My Life as a Ninja: Prequel
by MidnightMusic96
Summary: From the time Team 7 are in the academy to the time she gets kidnaped, what all was happening? Follow Bailey as she goes through the same difficulties as everyone else did at the time. Wait! There's more to it? Oh, that's just great!
1. How am I supposed to tell him?

The academy students show great potential. Naruto, though the dead last, shows signs of a large mass of chakra. It's probably from the Kyubi, but most of it is Naruto's. Sakura is brilliant in all forms of study but lacks potency in the field and will surly be taken down easily in a fight. Hinata just lacks courage while Kiba should calm down and work more on stealth. Shino seems fine, actually, but socially he is at a miss. Shikamaru is brilliant and his mind works to his advantage, if only he weren't so damn lazy. Ino is not as smart as Sakura, but their skills in battle are even. Chouji is normal in both the field and school. Lastly, Sasuke is the top in the class, but his problem is that he's arrogant and usually looks down on everyone as if he were the best. That is why I keep my ranking a secret from him.

My brother, the arrogant fool he is, would never believe it and believes I'm still in the academy in the lower class. In reality, I just achieved Jounin rank under the tutelage of Aoba Yamashiro and Kakashi Hatake, yet he is still in the academy though the graduation exams are today.

"Good luck Sasu-nii," I said walking beside him to the academy.

"I told you not to call me that!" he said in anger. I stuck my tongue out and ran ahead trying to get him to run after me. He did of course. He tackled me and people around us began to stare. As we wrestled I couldn't help but laugh. It was just like when we were young. "See you later squirt," he ruffled my hair as we parted in the academy.

I walked and turned a corner before leaving to train as I usually do in the morning. I found Kakashi in the training grounds reading and scratching Pakkun's little pug belly. The dog was in pure heaven. I laughed, gaining their attention and walked over.

"Well I'm off then boss," Pakkun disappeared. Training commenced until lunch when we took a break and I had to meet up with Sasuke at the school.

"Imouto, what happened? Did Genma hold you back for something?" he asked as I came out of the door and into the lunch area.

"He just told me my score on the latest test is all. I got a hundred on in nii-san! Isn't that amazing?" I said. He nodded, liking my answer. "So how's the graduation exam?" I noticed a hawk above me and one of the teachers looked around wondering who the Hokage wanted.

"Boring! Kami knows how I'll last for the remainder of the testing session," he answered taking a bite from his bento.

"Well why don't you just think of how it'll be like to be a Genin like Neji-nii?" I replied. He nodded, finished his meal, and lay back completely content with staying there. That is until the bell, signally for lunch to be over, rang throughout the yard. I ran one way waving to him as he ran the other sluggishly. When he was out of sight, I stopped and looked to the hawk above once again.

"You should get to class-" I turned around and Ibiki saw who I was, "Oh Bailey, still hiding from Sasuke? Also you should answer that before Sandiame-sama gets mad and sends someone to find you." I nodded, and sprinted off to the Hokage Tower.

I entered his office. "Bailey, you're going to have to reveal that to Sasuke soon. He will be a Genin soon. Just make sure he passes as well. I don't want such talent going to waste," he said from his seat on the floor and his glass ball in front of him. I nodded. "If anything is to happen to them you will watch their back. I will have a Hyuga Jounin watching Kurenai's team and than a loyal friend of mine watching Asuma's." I nodded again. Earlier he had told me that those three teams were most likely to pass. I decided to tell Sasuke when they are getting there teams.

"What shall I do until tomorrow?" I asked him. He smirked. Oh great! He already knew what he wanted me to do. "And don't say I should do nothing!" He laughed at me.

"I'll send you on a quick mission with Kakashi until then," he calmed down and handed me the mission information and sent for Kakashi. It was a simple assassination mission. We had to kill nearby mercenaries and bring back their equipment. Simple enough.

Kakashi entered the room and we left together to my house where I got ready. I tossed him the mission info and we left to our mission in silence.

(Sasuke's POV)

The bell rang, signaling the end of school. I walked proudly out of the classroom hoping to show off my new headband to Bailey, but she wasn't there. I scanned the courtyard and found no sight of her. Being the genius I am, the first place I looked was her classroom where Genma-sensei was grading papers.

"Sasuke what are you doing here? Class is over!" he said. I nodded my understanding.

"Do you know where Bailey is? She's not in the courtyard and I'm worried," I answered truthfully trying to keep my face as emotionless as possible.

"Oh, Hiashi-sama came and got her for an important meeting at the Hyuga compound. He said it would last for a long time, the earliest it will get out is sunset," Genma-sensei explained. It didn't seem right, but Hiashi had taken Bailey a couple of times out of class for something so I thought nothing of it. I nodded my thank you and excused myself. I guess I'm going to have to celebrate on my own tonight.

(Bailey's POV)

Kakashi and I are currently lugging a wagon to the rendezvous point on the outskirts of Konoha. It was about sunset now I was exhausted from tugging this for miles. It had to weight at least a hundred pounds! We finally reached it and we got to go home. If Sasuke passed, though I bet he did, I won't be able to celebrate with him.

I trudged home, tired. Sasuke met me at the door. I couldn't understand what he was saying although it was something about a meeting and how he graduated and such.

"Congratulations Sasuke-nii-san! The meeting was as boring as ever. I'm going to bed. We'll celebrate tomorrow, okay?" I asked. He nodded and left me to my sleep that I greatly accepted. I was going to get up before him to make a cake. It's going to be a small white cake with a thin layer of chocolate frosting on top. Then when it is done, I can either a) give it to him in the morning or b) give it to him while he's meeting Kakashi-sensei and shove it in his face. Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!

I woke up and quickly got out the cake mix, milk, eggs, and all the rest of the ingredients I'll need and be begun to prepare the cake. It was in the oven within twenty minutes and was baking when suddenly Sasuke came sleep-walking in. I should have known that he would follow his stomach. Damn Uchiha men and there stomachs! I did the first thing I thought was necessary. I began to make pancakes. He would still be out of it for at least another five minutes so I hurried.

I was able two or three before he was fully awake. The scent of the pancakes had overpowered the scent of the cake, thank Kami. We ate in silence before he headed off. I got in my ninja gear, something he's never seen, got the cake out of the oven, and bounced off to Iruka's classroom. I met him out of his classroom before the bell rang and we chatted. By the time the bell rang he was blushing as he walked in and I was following.

"Imouto, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Sasuke asked and a look of worry replaced his disgusted one. Remember? He had accidentally kissed Naruto.

"Giving Iruka the result to whose team you're on and wanting to see the reaction that you useless Genin have," I answered plainly. He gave me a shocked look noting I hadn't added sensei to the end of Iruka's name and that I seemed meaner. Also that I called him a Genin yet I was in the academy. He would have said something but Iruka cut him off, saying the names of their Jounin senseis. Their reactions? Priceless! Some were happy, some were sad and other quite frankly didn't care. I left quickly when the bell signaling for lunch rang so Sasuke wouldn't get me.

I went back to the house and iced the cake and took it with me when I went to find Kakashi-sensei. We went to the classroom together.

"Why don't you ever stop reading that damn book of yours?" I asked when he opened the door. An eraser came down and hit him on the head and I could hear Naruto laughing in the background. He walked in and collected himself, me quickly following.

"My first impression of you all? You're a bunch of idiots," he said nonchalantly. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Imouto, why are you here and why did you act that way before?" Sasuke spoke up from a desk.

"Everything I said was true, though," I said back innocently. A gleam of amusement sparked in Kakashi's visible eye.

"Useless Genin? Where did that come from? You yourself are in the academy! You have no right to call us useless!" he lost his temper. I chuckled darkly, making Naruto and Sakura back away from me and making Sasuke look at me questioningly.

"You see Sasuke, I'm not in the academy," I started but he cut me off.

"You're already a Genin!" I shook my head. "Chunin?" I shook my head again. "Jounin? When did that happen?" He was looking at me like I was juggling pie or something.

"Jounin for a couple of months now Sasuke. Kakashi-sensei truly is a great teacher," I answered.

"No way, he got fooled by my prank!" Naruto shouted idiotically. Kakashi chuckled darkly at his comment. I took this moment to slam the cake in Sasuke's face.

"Congratulations!" I yelled. He wiped the cake away from his face and gave me a death glare. "Hey, I did this to Neji, too." That didn't stop him. He took a piece of cake from his face and smeared it on mine. I smirked and used my figure to lick it. "I have outdone my self, yet again." Naruto came over and took some of the rest of the cake and tried it.

"Wow! That is good! You made this?" I nodded, making Sasuke curious to try it. His eyes widened when he did.

"Just like mom's food. Was that what woke me up this morning or was it the pancakes?" he asked.

"This. The pancakes were just a cover up," I said before Kakashi led us to the roof to introduce ourselves. He explained what everyone had to do and went first, revealing only his name. Naruto talked all about ramen and being Hokage while Sakura just squealed and said that she hates Naruto.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are a lot of things I dislike and I don't really like anything and… I can't really call it a dream, but I have an ambition, the resurrection of my clan and… to kill a certain man." My eyes narrowed dangerously when he said that. He wanted to kill an innocent man. Everyone looked to me.

"I'm Bailey Uchiha Hyuga and I like training, and my family. I dislike people who are full of themselves, people who treat people badly on their looks, and people who insult me or my family. My dream is to kill the man the made my life a living a hell," I answered bitterly. Sasuke eyed me thinking I wanted to kill Itachi, too. "No it is not the same as yours Nii-san," I hissed. He looked shocked.


	2. Why is Neji such a jerk?

_The next day, I watched Kakashi kick his little Genin's butts. Seriously, Naruto thought that Kakashi would actually drop a bell and leave it defenseless. No wonder he was the dead last in the class. Sasuke got close, but they all forgot the concept of the whole thing. _

_At the end when Kakashi told them they pass after sharing with Naruto. I took that as my time to get the bells. I jumped up behind him, silently, and grabbed them all before you could say "What." Kakashi was shocked when he saw me sitting on a post playing with the bells like I had been there the whole time. Sasuke glared at me. Oh, he was upset with me._

"_How did you get them?" Naruto asked. I smirked down at them._

"_I took the chance when Kakashi was off guard. Always take that opening. Also Kakashi didn't know I was here," I smiled. "Who wants Ichiraku ramen?" Naruto bounced on the pole._

"_ME! ME! I WANT RAMEN!" he yelled trying to get out._

"_You guys start heading. I'm going to see how long it takes him to get out with ramen on the line," I said. The other three left as I just sat there staring as he struggled._

"_Naruto how would you like me to train you at times. I can help you reach your goal of Hokage," I said. He was still struggling in the bounds, so I cut him free._

"_That'd be awesome Bailey-chan! You'd really do that?" he said as we began heading to Konoha._

"_I want to make sure you're as strong as Nii-san. His ambition is out of line and is unreachable as long as I'm here," I answered. Naruto nodded, but before he could speak or I could speak further, the stand came into view. Sasuke and Sakura were the only ones there. "Where's Kakashi-sensei? Did he ditch again? Damn him," I muttered._

"_He said he was going to tell Hokage-sama that we passed," Sakura answered looking up from her bowl of ramen. It looked like it hadn't been touched._

"_So, he ditched again?" Sasuke nodded chuckling. Naruto and I ordered as I sat at Sasuke's right. Sakura was on his left and Naruto sat at her left._

"_I can't wait to do missions! Save a princess! Beat up bad guys!" Naruto said excited, fingering his headband. I started laughing at his eagerness. "What? Did I say something wrong?" He looked worried as he said this._

"_It's just you won't be getting many missions like that for a long time," I replied. Sakura looked over in confusion. "You'll be getting D-rank missions for two weeks until you get a C-rank mission and those aren't that special."_

"_What are in those kinds of missions?" Sakura asked still not touching her ramen._

"_D-ranks are missions like community service. You walk dogs; chase Tora the cat, clean up trash, stuff like that. C-ranks are simple transport missions with low risk levels, or taking a person somewhere and guarding them from bandits but not ninjas." I said. "Just hope that you don't have to get Tora. That cat runs away so often. When you see the owner you'll know why? Why doesn't she just keep that cat in a cage or don't let it outside." I was ranting again. "Are you going to finish that, Sakura?"_

"_No," she passed it to me. "I'm on a diet." My eyes narrowed but I said nothing about it._

"_Sasuke, I'll teach you a few of my fire jutsu and Sakura do you want me to work with you, too?" I asked. Sasuke grunted his understanding._

"_Sure!" I motioned her to follow me as I placed money on the counter for most of the ramen. "What do you want Bailey-san?"_

"_You're chasing after my brother, correct?" She nodded. "First, cut the whole diet crap. I bet you only eat granola bars and salads. Second, you're acting like a fan girl. You'll never get him that way. Let me help you get stronger. We start this after noon." She nodded again._

_She followed me to training grounds 8. "What are you going to show me first Bailey-sensei?"_

"_I'll teach you how to see through a Genjutsu. I trust that Iruka taught you how to deflect one?" I asked. She nodded again. "Always look for informality. If it's not likely to happen, then it's probably not real. Like, what did you see in Kakashi's Genjutsu?"_

"_I saw Sasuke-kun covered in wounds after a fast wind kicked leaves up that twirled around me," her eyes widened as she realized just how dumb she was. I smirked._

"_Always keep alert. Recognize key characteristics. Next, I'm going to show you how to climb a tree without using your hands. Girls are found to have amazing chakra control, so this should be easy," I formed chakra at the sole of my feet. "Focus chakra at the soles of your feet. Too much and you will fly off, too little and you won't stick." I began to walk up the tree calmly. _

"_Wow! That's amazing Bailey-sensei!" she yelled as I reached a branch and hung upside-down. I threw a kunai at her feet._

"_Use that to mark how far you get up the tree. I suggest running until you get used to it. Soon it'll become second nature to you don't worry," I told her. She picked it up and ran at the tree, determination coursing across her face. She ran at the tree and began to run up._

"_Bailey!" Sakura's focus shattered and too much chakra was formed at the sole, causing her to fly back. I looked over to see Tenten running over. "Bailey can you help me with your brother. He's being stubborn again."_

"_You mean Sasuke-kun?" Sakura started. I cut her off before she could continue with her jealous tirade._

"_Neji is just being his usually self. Will he not train with you or will he not go with the team somewhere?" Sakura shut up._

"_He won't train with me. He said that I was holding him back," Tenten answered. She began to pout. "I'm not that bad!"_

"_Oh, I'll teach him something. Sakura this is Tenten. Tenten this is Sakura. She's one of this year's Rookie 9," I told her. "Sakura, Tenten graduated last year, top of her class just like you, but as you can see she hones in on her skills rather than chasing a guy blindly, though she is after Neji-nii." I gave her a sly smirk as she turned away embarrassed._

_We arrived at their training ground seeing Gai and Lee doing pushups while Neji was meditating. I plopped down in front of Neji and stared at him until he looked at me. His eye opened and he looked at me. "What?"_

"_Train with me if you think Tenten is holding you back," I told him. He sighed and got up._

"_Okay, but I don't want to hurt you," he motioned for me to come at him. I came at him and at the last minute teleported behind him and pinned him on his stomach with his hands behind his back._

"_Hurt me? How can you do that?" I asked and he grunted his response. By now we had gained Gai's attention._

"_Aw Bailey, what is such a youthful being doing here?" Gai came over and asked._

"_I'm teaching Neji a youthful lesson Gai-sensei. He was being un-youthful and refused to train with your youthful flower," I said instantly going into youth-mode and getting off Neji. Sakura was trembling by my sudden change of demeanor. "Now if you excuse me, I need to go train Sakura." I bowed and quickly dragged her out of the training grounds and back to ours._

"_What was that about and who were those creepy guys in green spandex?" she asked._

"_That was Gai-sensei and Lee. They always use youth in every sentence. I train with Gai every once in a while. I suggest staying away from them especially during training time. They are workaholics," I explained. "Now back to work monkey!" She laughed but did as told. It didn't take her long to get it._

"_Is that all for today? I'm exhausted," Sakura whined._

"_One more thing, force chakra into this piece of paper for me and then you're good to go," I handed her a small square-shaped paper. She focused her chakra into it and it was cut in half by a lightning looking shape. She handed them to me before walking off waving goodbye. Interesting, very interesting._


	3. What? I'm going to the Land of Waves?

For the next week or so, all Team 7 did were easy missions. Naruto would complain straight to the Hokage's face, while Sasuke and Sakura would complain to me. Sakura and I worked on her taijutsu skills and her weaponry. The next week I was going to show her some Ninjutsu that she could use for upcoming missions. I taught Sasuke some Katon techniques and Naruto learned how to use combinations with his clones and a more proper taijutsu stance.

However, after one of Naruto complaints got on the Third's nerves, he gave them a mission to guard a man named Tazuna until he finished the bridge in the land of the waves. I was told to help Team Gai train.

I helped Tenten with her accuracy on moving targets. I helped Neji with his Rotation and Lee and I sparred quite a few times. Gai worked with me and my taijutsu skills improving them.

Although a week after Team 7 left, Sandiame-sama called me into his office. It must have been important because he called for me in the middle of the night. Stupid bird nearly pecked me in the eye doing so.

I knocked on the door and entered.

"Yes Hokage-sama, you wanted to speak with me?" I asked as I stood alert in front of him.

"Yes, I haven't gotten any reports from Team 7 yet. I want you to go and see what is going on over there. I'm sure it's not good," he answered. "Leave as soon as possible. They could be in trouble." I quickly bowed and exited his office. What could have gone wrong? It was just a simple C-rank mission. It shouldn't be that hard.

I packed up a backpack and threw on black ninja pants and a green short-sleeved shirt. I tied my headband around my waist as I ran out the door. Lee stopped me before I reached the gate.

"Bailey, what are you doing out in the middle of the night? Training isn't for another four hours," he said keeping a tight grip on my wrist.

"I have a mission where I'm the back-up. I have to leave. They could be in trouble," I answer before tugging my wrist out of his grasp and running through the gate. He didn't stop me again nor did he call out.

I ran throughout the night and most of the day, with several stops for water and/or food. When I got close, it appeared that the bridge was near completion. I had to run on water for a few minutes before I could jump on the bridge.

Workers were scattered everywhere and when I landed on the bridge, most of them began to back away from me. Why are they doing that? It seems as if the sight of a ninja scares them. Sakura and the client came running over to see what the matter was.

"Bailey-san, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Konoha?" she questioned me.

"Hokage-sama asked me to come. He said you guys haven't sent any word back to him and he got worried. I'm here as back-up," I answered.

"Well, thank Kami there's another ninja, but aren't you a little young to serve as an effective back-up?" Tazuna said bluntly. Sakura shot him a glare.

"She may be young, but she is like that fake hunter-nin guy. She is as strong as Kakashi-sensei maybe stronger," Sakura yelled at him. I smiled to her and nodded to Tazuna.

"Fake hunter-nin? You ran into ninjas? That would be at least a B-rank mission? Why haven't you contacted the Hokage on that? Thank Kami I'm here now," I yelled at her before beginning my rambling.

"Kakashi-sensei will explain. We were just about to stop for lunch. Kakashi's back at the house," she said before Tazuna led us to the house.

"So, is everyone okay? Where are the others?" I kept asking.

"They're fine, maybe a little exhausted, but fine. They're training and Kakashi is bedridden. I get to guard Tazuna-san while the guys work on tree-climbing. Thank you again for teaching me that before," she explained. I nodded before we arrived at the house facing the water. It was a decent size that could fit probably up to six or seven. The view was nice and it just plain looked peaceful. That is until I walked into the beautiful home.

Sasuke and Naruto, covered in bruises and scratches, were fighting over who got the farthest up the tree today. Naruto was being as loud as ever and even Sasuke was a tad louder than normal for him. Kakashi was sitting at the table looking miserable, trying to get the two to shut up. They did when they noticed me.

"Imouto, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked ceasing his and Naruto's fight. Kakashi looked up from the table and a hint of gratitude was seen in his visible eye.

"I'm here as back-up for you guys. Hokage-sama got worried and sent me here to help, because you didn't send back a report," I answered truthfully. "It's required on a Genin team's first C-rank mission."

"Thank Kami!" Kakashi cried throwing his hands in the air and slamming them against the table along with his head. I chuckled.

"Overused your Sharingan I see, huh Kakashi?" He made an audible grunt. "Who'd you run into to make you do that?"

"Zabuza Momochi ambushed us before we got here. He escaped by faking his death from a hunter-nin. The kid is probably 15, maybe less," Kakashi complained.

"Most likely his student if you ask me. What are you going to do about him?" I asked.

"We're all going to the bridge tomorrow. It's getting closer to being finished. They'll most likely strike then," Kakashi answered. The plates of food were set on the table. "Now let's eat!"

After lunch, I helped Kakashi get more feeling back into his joints. We trained for a few hours. Two hours of it was purely us raging full out war on each other. We had to stop when Sakura came by and got freaked out. The last three hours were spent with weight training and weapons training. We did that to get speed back to normal.

We came in for dinner but the boys weren't back yet. Sakura of course started panicking. No one really saw it, but she was no doubt about it. Eventually the guys stumbled into the house, Sasuke supporting Naruto. I raised a questioning eyebrow at them.

"We finally made it to the top of the tree, but Dobe here over did it a bit," Sasuke explained dragging Naruto over to the table to eat. Naruto laughed softly to himself before pulling himself from Sasuke's hold and plopping down in his seat.

Everyone ate in silence and by the end Naruto looked like he was about to pass out. The silence, however, was broken by Inari who stood up with tears pooling out of his eyes.

"Why do you guys bother to try so hard? No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for Gatou's men! No matter what glorious claims you make or how hard you work, when facing the strong, the weak will only end up getting killed!" Inari yelled.

"Whatever kid, I'm not like you," Naruto grunted.

"I'd hate to be like you! You don't know anything about this country, yet you're being so nosy!" Inari yelled again tears still cascading down his face. "What the hell do you know about me? I'm different from you. You're always clowning around and acting so cheerful. You don't know hard life can be!" Something seemed to snap in Naruto, but he didn't raise his head from the table.

"So it's ok for you to pose as the star of a tragedy and cry all day?" Inari's attention was suddenly brought to Naruto. "Just keep crying forever, you idiot! You little sissy!" Naruto brought his head up and shouted, silencing everyone in the room.

"Naruto, you've said enough," Sakura yelled at him. Naruto just grunted and walked from the room. Inari walked onto the porch, still with tears pouring from his eyes. Kakashi and I exchanged a glance, before slowly following him.

He was sitting on the edge with his feet over the side, not close enough to touch the water. "Can we join you?" I asked. Inari nodded and we sat by him. I let my feet dangle in the water while Kakashi sat farther behind so his couldn't.

"Naruto didn't mean any harm by what he said. Sometimes he just doesn't use his head," Kakashi started. Inari didn't respond. "Tazuna-san told us about your dad. Like you, Naruto also grew up without a father. Actually, he's never known his parents and he's never even had a single friend. The truth is, he's had a rougher past than you, but I have never once seen him cry or complain. He's always… trying his best to get people to acknowledge him. For that dream, he'd risk his life anytime. He's probably sick and tired of crying. He knows what it really means to be strong, just like your father. Naruto and Bailey may understand your feelings better than anyone else."

"What?" Inari questioned turning to look at me.

"Both sets of my parents were killed before I was five. My mother even died in my arms," I said glancing across the water as a faint breeze blew my hair. "I lost both of my best friends to the same man and got severely injured when I was your age. I felt useless. I cried for days, but crying would get me no where. I vowed to one day become stronger to protect all those precious to me. Here I am today, nearly succeeding in my dream."

"But, haven't you already accomplished that?" Inari pressed further, tears no longer flowing from his eyes.

"I still have to be strong enough to protect Sasuke from himself. He's caught up in revenge and if he faces that man, it'll end in more heartbreak. That's why my mission is yet to be completed," I answered truthfully.


	4. Time To KICK ASS!

"Goodbye! Thanks for taking care of Naruto for us!" Sakura yelled happily to Tsunami. She just nodded and went back into the house. Naruto had over worked himself yesterday from climbing the tree, so he was going to stay there and sleep. He'd probably be out of it for most of the day.

We arrived at the bridge. Everyone was knocked out, lying on the ground. Suddenly, I felt two ninja appear behind us. We gathered in a circle around Tazuna as mist began to float over us.

"Long time no see Kakashi. I see you've got a different brat with you. Another weak girl?" a voice cut through the air. I growled but let him believe that for now. "Oh, she's upset! What you going to do about that, huh? Oh, he's shaking again, poor kid." A group of clones appeared around us of Zabuza. I recognized him from the bingo book.

"I'm shaking with excitement," Sasuke stated smirking his Uchiha smirk, making me smirk mine.

"Oh, you're related. She must be weak then," Zabuza mocked.

"Do it, Sasuke," Kakashi nodded. With a rush of speed Sasuke destroyed all the water clones and landed back in his spot smirking once again. He scared Tazuna with his speed.

"He saw through the water clones. That brat has grown. It looks like a rival has appeared eh Haku?" Zabuza spoke smirking as well.

"It does indeed," the boy answered obediently. Kakashi was right. He was no older than 15. I looked back at Kakashi silently asking which one I would be facing. He nodded to the boy then nodded to Zabuza saying that once the boy was finished I would help with Zabuza.

"I'll fight him. Tricking us with that stupid act. I hate bastards like that the most," Sasuke spoke up. Haku then mentioned something about being impressive before he attacked. Haku teleported over and went at him with a senbon that Sasuke used a kunai to block.

Kakashi ordered Sakura to guard Tazuna and to leave it to Sasuke and me, while he fought Zabuza. Haku then began to weave hand-signs with one hand. I tried to stop the attack but he finished it too fast for me to. Thousands of ice senbon shot at Sasuke. He jumped into the air avoiding the attack. Sasuke appeared behind Haku with a kunai and went for the attack. Haku blocked the kunai and the punch, but Sasuke's kick connected, knocking Haku back.

"I can't have you underestimating my by calling them brats. Sasuke is Konoha's number one rookie. Sakura is the brightest in the village. Bailey is at Jounin level right now and the other one is the show-off, hyperactive, number one loudest ninja in the entire village," Kakashi boasted nonchalantly.

"He he ha, Haku did you hear that? At this rate, we'll be driven back," Zabuza chuckled.

"We can't have that," Haku answered standing. He made a hand-sign and trapped Sasuke and I in a dome of mirrors. He slid into one and his reflection appeared on all the mirrors. What was this jutsu? Who could use an ice technique? Was it a bloodline? "Now, I'll show you my real speed." He pulled out senbon.

Before I knew it, all of the mirrors barraged us with senbon. However what got me the most was that he wasn't aiming for any major points. They would just knick us. Sasuke yelled out in pain and I squinted one of my eyes for a second, adjusting to the pain. From the outside I saw Sakura throw a kunai, but it was caught. Suddenly, out of no where, a shuriken came and hit Haku out of the mirror.

"Uzumaki Naruto has arrived," Naruto burst in. He began to ramble on about him being important as I helped Sasuke up and healed a few of his major cuts with my mandatory medical skills. He nodded his thanks.

Zabuza threw shuriken at Naruto but they were blocked by Haku's senbon. It was Haku's fight and he made sure Zabuza understood that. Suddenly, Naruto appeared in the mirrors by us.

"Hey, I came to save you," he said. I smacked my forehead. He really is a knucklehead. The two instantly started fighting like they usually do. Haku jumped back into the mirror. I got into my Hyuga taijutsu stance and Sasuke looked at me strangely. He then began to weave hand-signs for his Katon jutsu. Idiot, that won't work! His arsenal of Katon jutsu doesn't nearly have a technique high enough to melt it. Not even adding a wind technique would help.

Haku then barraged us again. I quickly used my Hakke Shou Kaiten to deflect the majority of the weapons, but some still got by hitting all of us. I smirked when he hesitated.

"Trying to follow me with your eyes is impossible. You will never catch me," Haku said. Before I could activate my Sharingan, Naruto used Kage Bushin. Neither I nor Sasuke could stop them. He ran straight at the mirrors and as Haku moved from mirror to mirror, he would hit Naruto with a senbon. He stumbled back and fell on his butt. "This jutsu uses the mirror's reflection to transport me. From my point of view, you seem to be moving in slow-motion."

"Well, let's see if kenkei genkai is a match for yours. Boys stay out of this for now," I activated my Mangekyou Sharingan. Sasuke looked at me in bewilderment, dragging Naruto away from me.

"You don't want to get caught in that," Sasuke warned. I jumped into the air using the technique that Itachi showed us when we were younger, throwing kunai at all the mirrors. Also as I twisted in the air, I formed hand-signs.

"Katon Karyuu Endan!" I cried as a dragon of fire appeared from my mouth. It ran throughout the dome and as it terrorized, I landed and slammed a chakra powered fist into one of the mirrors, shattering it to crystals. "Guys get out, now!"

The mirrors suddenly began to spin and Haku emerged from them, his mask slightly cracked. "You've made me mad now. I will have to kill you for that is what my precious person wants," Haku said. He again barraged us with senbon, but at the last second Sasuke jumped in Naruto's way and took the full blow. A shriek came from Sakura all of a sudden. Kakashi what are you doing? Sasuke stood with determination in his face. His Sharingan activated.

"Now, we have three Sharingan users on this bridge," Sasuke said smugly. Haku attacked again and Sasuke, yet again, took the blow from Naruto who was too weak to stand. "Geeze, all you ever do is get in the way." He fell back into Naruto who caught him. "That man… my brother. I told myself I wouldn't die until I killed him."

"Nii-san!" I cried. Naruto grew angry.

"Is this your first death of a friend? How sad for a shinobi of your caliber," Haku mocked.

"Shut up! I watched my mother die in my arms! Do you think I'll let my brother die, too?" I yelled. Naruto stopped his movements and stared in shock. Enraged, I ran at Haku with my Byakugan active. I threw a Jyuken at his heart with the intention to kill. He knocked it off balance and picked me up and threw me out of the dome. I landed on my shoulder, effectively dislocating it.

"Bailey-san!" Sakura yelled. Kakashi was weaving hand-signs with his summoning scroll. I picked myself up and hobbled to Sakura, finding out my leg was also broken. Suddenly a rush of massive chakra enveloped us.

"Kakashi! The seal! It's breaking!" I yelled as the Kyubi's chakra overwhelmed Sakura. He finished weaving signs and slammed the scroll on the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Kakashi cried. "Bailey, take care of Naruto, before he gets himself killed!" I nodded as suddenly Kakashi nin-dogs appeared under Zabuza. Since I couldn't walk and my shoulder was dislocated, I hopped on one of Kakashi's other dogs that came over to assist me. He ran to the dome and jumped onto the top of it. Haku would be to busy to attack me. I looked in. The dome had stopped spinning. Kyubi's chakra encircled the whole dome as Naruto stood in rage. He charged, on all fours, straight at Haku. Haku quickly slid into his mirrors and tried to attack. All I could do was watch for now. Naruto fended off all the attacks and threw a good punch to his face. Haku flew back, smashing through his mirrors, and having his mask fall off. The mirrors broke and we were forced to land on the ground behind Naruto.

Naruto suddenly stopped attacking and the chakra retracted back into him. "You're from that time…" Naruto trailed off. Haku yet again made Naruto mad and he punched him again. As Haku explained to Naruto about his existence, I snuck up behind him and was prepared for him to attack Naruto and to block them. Haku began to tear up as he spoke and Naruto was calm, but still at alert. What he said last, surprised me.

"Please Naruto-kun, kill me," he had said. "Why are you hesitating?" Naruto yelled at him, drawing a kunai. He ran to attack, but Haku suddenly teleported. I looked over at Kakashi's fight and saw Haku with Kakashi's Raikiri threw his heart. When we got over there, he was already dead.

Zabuza swung his sword, aiming to go through both Kakashi and Haku. Kakashi grabbed Haku and brought him out of harms way. Kakashi closed Haku's eyes to let him rest in peace.

"Naruto stay there! Bailey go look after Sasuke!" Kakashi shouted to us. "This is my fight." I turned the dog around and ran off to Sasuke. Sakura and Tazuna were able to run faster than the dog so they beat me to him. Sakura began to cry and tears actually began to poor out of my eyes.

"No matter what situation, a shinobi must keep emotions on the inside. You must make the mission your top priority and you must possess a heart that shows no tears," Sakura recited. She cried out in sorrow when I got there.

"Sakura, its okay to show tears. If you don't then you're not human. Now move, I might still be able to still save him," I sniffed. "I don't want to lose my Aniki like I did my mother." She nodded and backed away as I quickly began to heal him.

"Imouto, you're heavy," he said. I slightly smacked him. "Ow, that hurts." He tried to get up. "What happened to Naruto and that masked man?"

"Sit back! Naruto is fine and the man is dead. Relax and lay down!" I yelled at him. He reluctantly laid back again.

"Dead? Did Naruto kill him?" Sasuke questioned further as I continued to heal him.

"No, he died protecting Zabuza. Took a blow straight through his heart," I explained. I moved to his neck now. "Be still, I have to take these out but I don't want to cause more damage than already done." He froze and I slowly removed senbon after senbon from his neck and quickly healed it. "I'm so glad I studied how to be a medical-nin at one point."

I looked over at Zabuza when I was done healing and saw him cutting his way through a crowd of what I believed to be were Gatou's men. Gatou must have made him angry because he was in a demon like trance. He cut through them all and reached Gatou himself, slitting his throat with the kunai in his mouth.

"Naruto! Sasuke's alright!" Sakura yelled. I helped him stand and he raised his arm in welcome to his teammate. Naruto eyes began to water in joy and Kakashi smiled. Gatou's men began to yell and readied an attack. Right when Naruto and Kakashi were going to attack, people from the village suddenly showed up behind them with Inari leading them. To scare them more, both Kakashi and Naruto created Bushin. They began to run.

Kakashi then went up to Zabuza, who I now noticed was laying on the ground with several swords protruding from his back. "Kakashi, I have a request. I want to see his face." Kakashi motioned for me to come and I helped him pick up Zabuza and bring him to Haku. It slowly began to snow. "Haku, are you crying?"

I smiled as we set him down next to Haku. "Thanks Kakashi. I realized I never got your name."

"Bailey Uchiha Hyuga, now rest so you can be with Haku," I answered softly. He lifted his arm and slowly placed it on Haku's cheek. I knew they would go there, together. Haku was as pure as snow and Zabuza was his friend. They just had to remain together. Slowly, Zabuza, too, died. The snow stopped and the villagers dissipated.

I helped Sasuke up and we all went back to the village to get healed up, except for Sakura, who didn't do anything, and Naruto, who got healed from the Kyubi chakra. Kakashi actually had to pop my shoulder back into place because there was no medical-nin in the village. He even had to heal my leg.

Two weeks past and we all made a full recovery. We went to honor their deaths at their grave sights. Zabuza's had his sword behind it while Haku's was just next to it. We had helped carve their name into it out of respect. This was the last day we would be staying here.

We then met up with everyone on the bridge. Guess what they called the bridge. The Great Naruto Bridge. I can't believe Naruto had such an impact on these people. I bet he'll do that everywhere he goes. Naruto and Inari began to tease each other about crying, both promising they wouldn't, but as we turned to leave, both of them burst into tears. I rolled my eyes at their childishness.

"Wait, can I stay?" I asked as we were walking. Kakashi rose a questioning eyebrow to me. "I have a bad feeling, the two uh… beasts will kill me when I get back."

"We'll come in through the east entrance just in case," Kakashi smiled.

"Like that will stop them from tracking me down," I answered. Kakashi began to chuckle while the other three looked at us as if we were insane, making me howl with laughter.


	5. The Chunin Exams and House Cleaning Pt1

I was called into the Hokage Office just weeks after the mission in the Land of Waves. He told me to keep an eye on the Suna Genin. He said their earliness was unusual and suspicious. I guess I'll have to find them.

I spotted them near Naruto and Konohamaru. A Suna Genin in a black jumpsuit and face make-up had Konohamaru by the front of his shirt. A girl stood behind him with a fan strapped on her back. Her dirty blonde hair was up in four ponytails. Sakura, Moegi and Udon were behind Naruto as Naruto tried to get Konohamaru back. I hid in a tree nearby.

A rock was thrown at the guy with the face paint causing him to drop Konohamaru. Sasuke was in a tree across from mine holding a rock. A kid stood upside down on the opposite side of it. He had short red hair, no eyebrows, insomnia lines, and a tattoo of the kanji love on his forehead. Sasuke didn't seem to notice him.

"Kankuro, stop it," the redhead said. Sasuke was instantly alerted to his presence, his eyes widened. "You're an embarrassment to our village."

"G-Gaara," the man, apparently Kankuro, stammered. He seemed as if he were afraid.

"Losing yourself in a fight, how pathetic… Why do you think we came to Konoha?" Gaara answered glaring viscously.

"Listen Gaara, they started it and…" Gaara cut him off.

"Shut up or I'll kill you," he said. Kankuro began to apologize profusely scarred of the redhead. I wonder why? "Sorry to you guys." Gaara disappeared in sand and reappeared on the ground. Sand? There's no sand around here. That must be what's in that gourd on his back. "It looks like we got here too early, but we didn't come here to play around. Let's go."

"Wait!" Sakura shouted. She began to ramble on about them not supposed to be there until I stepped in. I jumped down in front of her.

"It's okay Sakura. They're here for the Chunin Exams. They have passes, too," I said. The Suna Genin showed their passes. "When Kakashi comes back he'll tell you what it is. For now just go and rest." Konohamaru and his crew were silent.

"Hey, what's your name?" Sasuke teleported down in front of his team. He looked straight at Gaara. Sasuke must have been impressed.

"Sabaku no Gaara. I'm also interested in your name and hers," he answered shifting his eyes from Sasuke to me.

"It's Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke smirked smugly. I shook my head at him.

"Hyuga Uchiha Bailey is my name. I'd like to know the name of your comrades if you may. I like to know who the Genin are," I replied.

"My siblings Temari and Kankuro. Are you not a Genin yourself?" Gaara replied in anger. Gaara seemed to be my age and I smirked defiantly.

"Imouto don't go there. You'll get yourself killed," Sasuke warned glaring at me. I began to laugh, surprising everyone around me, even the evil Gaara.

"I'm a Jounin. I'm sure he won't kill me, now. If he does, tell Neji he's a dork," I replied smiling. Gaara glared which I continued to ignore. Sasuke shook his head and began to rub his temples. Behind me, I saw sand slowly creep at me, trying to take me by surprise. "Gaara, there is to be no fighting aside from in the exams. Retract your sand," I ordered not turning around towards him. He silently did as he was told.

I finally turned towards the Suna Genin, motioning to the others to leave. "Remember Imouto, you're making dinner tonight for the team," Sasuke said before turning to leave with the others. Three Oto-nin were in a different tree as I could tell.

"Be careful of the people you believe to be your allies. They might end up being not who they seem," I said subconsciously. Where did that come from? I shook my head and was about to disappear when a Suna ninja appeared behind me with a kunai at my throat.

"What are you doing with my Genin?" he said. I sighed.

"Just giving helpful advice. You never know when they'll need it. Sayonara!" I cried disappearing. That was close. I breathed a sigh of relief. Now I better inform the Hokage of this. Suna and Oto were close. They watched each others backs but there is no history of them signing a treaty. What was going on?

I knocked on the Hokage's door. He let me in. "Bailey, you're back already? Did you run into them?" he questioned turning away from the window. I walked up beside him

"They were picking on Konohamaru. He must of done something to tick him off," I started. "They are siblings, Sabaku no Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara. They were born in that order, but Gaara seems to be in charge, ruling through fear. Temari wields a fan, Kankuro uses puppets, and Gaara has a gourd made of sand on his back."

"Do they seem any threat against the rookie 9?" he asked staring at the now setting sun. I shot my head towards him saying 'You're kidding, right?' He side-glanced. "The rookies have been entered into the Chunin Exams." I sighed.

"They are a huge threat. Gaara seemed to be troubled. They kept me in their sights until their Jounin sensei came, for they were no match for me," I replied. "What worries me the most is, they seem to be close to the Oto Genin. The Oto-nin seemed to be watching me with caution. Both of the senseis even showed up together. Even having the Suna Jounin have a kunai at my neck, the Oto Jounin didn't give me a good vibe. It felt like he was staring at me like I was something to eat, almost snake-like."

"Thank you Bailey. If it's no trouble at all, see how well they get along," he said. I nodded. He waved a hand to dismiss me. I bowed and left.

I walked to the store. I had to get supplies to get. I picked up supplies to make teriyaki and the Uchiha chawanmushi. I even picked up some dango for desert. I was walking home when the Oto Jounin appeared in front of me. "Excuse me, but do you mind moving out of my way." He moved.

"Would you like help, miss," he asked drawing out the 's' in miss. I shook my head.

"I'm fine. It's just one bag and I'm a big girl," I replied walking away from him. He kept walking beside me. "Do you want anything, sir." Right now, I was glad my headband was in sight.

"I'm wondering what you want. It's not often I see a woman of your age walk with such purpose," he replied. Something was not right. I stopped and faced him. Might as well see what he'll tell me.

"I just want to help my brothers, all of them," I replied vaguely.

"How would you like power beyond you're wildest dreams?" He came up behind me and ran a light hand over my cheek, whispering in my ear. "I can give it all to you. You just have to come with me." His hand began to trail over my neck. I used his close proximity to flip over him, throw him to the ground, and hold a kunai to his neck.

"You're a pedophile. I'm a loyal Konoha kunoichi, you scum disgust me," I said to him. "I'm not allowed to hurt you at all considering you're a guest, but I'm going to give you a warning. You mess with Konoha or their ninjas, you mess with me." I let him go, grabbed my groceries, and began walking home again.

Before he could start following, Gai-sensei ran up to me. "Bailey are you okay? I don't want my rival's youthful flower hurt," he said.

"I'm fine. He just told me something that I had to take care of," I replied. I allowed him to take the grocery bag to eliminate the Oto-Jounin's excuse. He picked me up onto his shoulders, making me squeal in delight. He dropped me off at the Uchiha compound. The Oto-nin was nowhere to be seen. "Thank you Gai-sensei!" He gave me his nice guy pose and jogged out.

I walked into our home. We were currently living in a smaller home in the manor. Living at our old home was traumatic on both of us for months. We had constant nightmares. At one point, I went to Sandiame-sama about it. He suggested we live farther away. Slowly, but surely, we moved closer, from an apartment near the Hyuga manor to one closer and closer until it was one just outside the compound. We moved in and made a permanent home in one of the smaller homes. We just don't feel it's right to live in such a large home.

As I walked into the house. I set the food on the table and began to prepare it. Sasuke came in shortly later to grill the teriyaki. Sakura and Naruto came a little before it was done. I made noodles, put them in the homemade Uchiha sauce. I also put rice and tomato mixed in there. The thick soup was not finished yet. I placed narutomaki on top of it with basil leaves on top. By now, Sasuke had finished the teriyaki.

I dished them into rice bowls and put that on a plate where Sasuke put the chicken. Sakura and Naruto had entered slightly before, unnoticed. They saw Sasuke hug me while I was cooking and ask how my day was. We served them in the neat dining room.

"Later, we'll give you a tour of the house. Right now, eat and enjoy. It's an Uchiha family recipe," I said. We chit chatted throughout the meal. It was comfortable with them.

"It was delicious Bailey-san and Sasuke-kun. Thank you for it," Sakura said politely.

"Do you have more?" Naruto asked with his mouth full. I laughed and brought his bowl into the kitchen to refill it. I brought the dango with me, too.

"You're lucky I always make more than normal. We like to have leftovers because sometimes we can't cook," I placed the bowl in front of him and the dango in the center. I threw Sasuke a tomato. That was the only thing sweet he would eat. I dug into the dango. Damn Itachi for making me love these.

When dinner was over, we all moved into the living room. We played a few games. I even embarrassed Sasuke a few times. He wouldn't let me say anything more, so to shut me up, he sent me to take Sakura on a tour while he took Naruto.

From the door, I showed her the living room, the kitchen, the dining room, and all of which she's seen. The bathroom was connected to the living room on the other side of the kitchen. The dining room was connected to the kitchen and the kitchen opened up to our backyard. Upstairs, was our office straight from the stairs. Our desks and some weights were in there for when it was too cold to be outside or just didn't feel like it. My room was to the left and Sasuke's was to the right.

It was now about seven and Sakura and I had an idea to get Sasuke to like her. We smirked as the boys came out of Sasuke's room. We turned on the stereo and I tossed Sakura a microphone. I grabbed one myself and we challenged the boys. I went through all my CDs and found one with a duet. I put on Cross the Line by Superchick. I was surprised that Naruto knew the song. Naruto and Sakura left after that.

I went to bed. Tomorrow, I had a day of cleaning ahead of me.

The next day, I woke up, made pancakes and set out to clean and garden the compound. I had two weeks off now that the Chunin Exams were upon us. While Sasuke was in them, I was cleaning. I quickly ate up and went to start at the front of the compound. I was going to paint the walls today and try to get to gardening some of the gardens.

Sasuke came near the house a little later. By then, I had finished half the front posts their bright red color. I gave him a hug, wished him luck, and told him I'd see him later. I finished the posts and set to paint the walls like they were before. The top part was a deep dark blue, the rest white with the exception of Uchiha fans on it.

By noon, I had all that done. The first exam should be done by now, so I decided to see who was left. I grabbed Sasuke's backpack, which he had left, and some lunch before heading off to the Hyuga manor. Hiashi sent me with Neji's, saying he forgot, and Hinata and Neji's lunch.

I arrived at the scene just as Anko was wrapping up her speaking and dismissing them to lunch. "Hey Anko!" she turned my way. "I have dango!" She squealed and began to chase after me. At one point in time, the Genin had stopped their eating and looked at me. Anko pounced catching my foot. She yanked it out from under me, causing my head to meet the floor.

"Give me the dango," she hissed venomously into my ear. I chuckled but gave it up anyway. "So, Bailey, what are you doing here?" she said with her mouth full.

"I'm giving the two idiots I call my brothers their backpacks and I'm delivering lunch," I replied back annoyed. I threw Sasuke and Neji their packs before casually walking to sit with the rest of the rookie 9 and Team Gai. I gave Hinata and Neji their lunch and talked to them a bit before Ibiki put me in a headlock. He wanted to see the Genin into the forest. He didn't really trust Anko.

"Now you come! I've been waiting all day to torture you," he said to me grinning evilly. I squealed trying hard not to laugh and failing. How can you not laugh when the almighty Ibiki was being soft. Some of the Genin had been silent. A crow flew overhead and both Ibiki and I swore.

"Shit! This is supposed to be my day off," I complained. Ibiki let go of me, I waved goodbye to the rookies, and we both disappeared.

We walked into the Hokage's Office. There were many other advanced ninja in there besides us. Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, Kurenai, Aoba, Raido, Genma, Kotetsu, Izumo, Tsume, Shikaku, Chouza, Inoichi, Shibi, Hiashi, and even some ANBU were all present. What was going on?

"Quiet down everyone. I have received information from a secure source that Oto and Suna ninjas are working together. Not in the exam but under a secret treaty. Would all clan heads or representatives follow me to discuss something with me afterwards? If anyone is to see suspicious activity, please notify me immediately. You are dismissed," he called attention to us in a dead serious tone. I was about leave with everyone else when the Sandiame placed a hand on my shoulder indicating for me to stay.

"What is this about? Why hasn't my niece left yet?" Hiashi said cutting straight to the point. He must have been interrupted during training if he was in such a mood. The Sandiame raised a hand to politely shut him up.

"I have reason to believe that missing-nin Orochimaru has breached the walls of Konoha," he began. Orochimaru? He's a Sannin trained by the Sandiame himself. How could he have gotten in? It's nearly impossible… unless he entered under the guise of a Jounin sensei. "He is known to have long black hair, snake-like eyes and tongue, and pale skin. I need to know why he is here. Anyone who sees him will have to take him into custody and brought to me immediately."

"Hokage-sama, may I speak?" I stepped forward and nodded for me to speak. "I think I know the reason why he's here. I've seen him twice. The first was when we ran into the Suna Genin. He was in the background staring at Sasuke like he was something to eat. The second time, he went up to me as I was leaving the market telling me to join him, saying he could give me all the power in the world. When he got to close, I flipped him and held a kunai at his neck. I didn't know it was him until you gave the description. He's under the guise of an Oto Jounin sensei," I finished.

"What do you think he wants then Miss Uchiha?" Hiashi hissed. I guess he still had the grudge of when I flipped him out of the manor and he landed on his head. The clan wouldn't shut up about it for weeks.

"He wants Uchiha blood for his experiments," I replied. Hiashi scoffed in annoyance.

"Thank you Bailey, all but her are dismissed," he replied calmly. Hiashi glared in my direction, which I easily ignored. "Are you sure he's after the Uchiha blood? It could be that he just likes you."

"I have recently been receiving letters from my brother saying Orochimaru quit his organization after cutting off his hand. He said he did so because Orochimaru wanted the power of the Sharingan he had. If he is here, that must be what he wants, but knowing Orochimaru, he probably wants something more. Something I don't know about," I informed. He nodded and stared out the window. I looked to the clock. The Second Chunin Exam had began. It would now be when the Genin lived what is really outside the gates.


	6. The Chunin Exams and House Cleaning Pt2

I returned to get more cleaning done before it got too dark. I was surprised when I actually finished all but the old home's garden, but that was the biggest one and I was saving that house for last. The sun had set and I moved to the houses near the entrance. I'll tell you a secret to help you work faster. Use Kage Bushin to get through it faster. Thank you Naruto for teaching me the technique!

At 7:00 I went back home, ate some of the leftovers, and when to bed. Now the worse part of my day. In the middle of the night at about 4:47, an ANBU guard came and knocked on my door. At the night, I got up, creeping to the door with a kunai at the ready.

"Why are you here? It's my day off and it's about five in the morning," I complained. I was rubbing the sleep from my eyes after putting the kunai in it's holster.

"My apologies Miss Uchiha, but Hokage-sama wishes for you to go down to the Chunin Exam second task. He said you won't be there long," the guard said. What was with people calling me Miss Uchiha.

"Someone already passed? They beat my record!" I shouted. "Come on in, I'll be ready in a minute. Also call me Bailey. I get annoyed when people call me miss." He nodded and entered the living room. I sprinted upstairs. I threw on brown pants that ended at the knee and a black ninja top. I quickly combed through my hair and placed a brown hair band in it. I placed my necklace on my neck and tied my headband around my waist. I rushed downstairs. "Come on."

We sprinted to the Forest of Death, where we both signed in, gaining access to teleport there. I bowed to Hokage-sama when we arrived. "Good to see you Bailey," he greeted.

"Ok, where the bastards that beat my record," I growled. The Sandiame laughed at me and showed me into the room where the contestants would be. I looked down into it and guess who I saw. I saw Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro sitting peacefully on the chairs. Gaara, however, seemed off and fear was radiating off of the other two. Only trained shinobi would be able to detect it.

Gaara looked up towards us and a twisted smile played it's way onto his face. It was sadistic and filled with bloodlust. "My pray," he hissed in a near whisper. I saw Temari and Kankuro's eyes widen in fear. Subconsciously, my body moved me behind Gaara as I lightly touched the small of his back.

"You are in control, not him. You are his master, not him," I whispered in a trance in his ear. The bloodlust vanished and I backed away slowly blinking in confusion. What the hell was that? Gaara was also in a state of confusion when I finally gained my sense back. "You guys beat my record! How could you? My team's was just 18 hours," I said angrily.

"Thank Gaara for that. He did it all," Temari said. I glared at Gaara but back-flipped up to stand next to the Hokage. He was laughing at me. I glared at him, too making him laugh harder.

"You enjoy my pain, don't you? That was one of the last good things I had to remember my teammates by," I said angrily. He stopped his laughing and stared down in shame. He was saved by his lecture when Hinata, Kiba, and Shino stumbled into the room with Kurenai. Kurenai left. "Just great, they beat it too! Why Hina?"

"W-we didn't b-beat it, Bailey-san," Hinata stammered. I checked the clock. It read 18:34 and my record was 18:12. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least were still in second place.

"Sorry for snapping at you. I awoke on the wrong side of the bed. I'm glad you made it Hina-chan," I went up to her giving her a hug. She hugged back slightly shaking. "It's okay Hina, you don't have to go back in there."

"Is this your cousin you said was Jounin-level?" Shino asked.

"Aw, you talk about me! I'm touched, thanks Hina and yes that would be me," I said reaching out a hand for him to shake. "I'm Bailey Uchiha Hyuga." He shook it saying his name and Kiba did like wise also introducing Akamaru. I scratched him behind his ear.

"So what are you going to do with your time off?" Hinata asked. I smiled at her and motioned for them to follow me to a table. Kiba collapsed on the bench and Shino sat quietly (shocker right).

"I'm cleaning the Uchiha compound. The place is covered in dust and looks like a ghost town. Yesterday I finished painting the walls and gardening all but the main house's garden. Now, you guys rest. There's snacks in the other room to munch on and blankets and mats also. Push that button over there with my name or Kurenai's if you need anything and we'll see if you can have it," I said and waved good-bye. I glared at Gaara and went up to the Hokage.

"You seem to be having fun," he said. I nodded. "You can go whenever you want." I bowed and waved before disappearing. I ran to the Hyuga manor to meet up with Hiashi for our training session.

I arrived to find him taping his foot impatiently. "Where have you been?" I checked the clock again. I was a minute late. I glared at him.

"If you must know, I was visiting your daughter. Her team made it to the center. Just barely missed my time except that Suna team did though," I answered. He nodded and readied himself for the training.

Training ended near noon and Hiashi actually let me stay for lunch. We were on better terms now than before, but he still wouldn't let me stay in my room here, even though it's mine and hasn't been changed in years. Everything is sitting in the room gathering dust. I bowed to him after lunch and departed, glad to be out of there.

I went back to the compound to finish up the cleaning of most of the other houses. Surprisingly enough, it didn't take long. Most Uchiha kept their houses tidy when they lived in them and only a few houses weren't. I just really had to dust everything. By the end of the day, the main house was the only thing left. I didn't expect this taking such a short period of time, so I'll need to learn what to do for the rest of my vacation-time.

The next morning I got up, heading to the main house. I entered and scanned the front room. Flashbacks, peaceful ones, began to play in my head and I couldn't help but smile.

(Flashback)

I rode atop Itachi shoulders as he ran around the room making a 'whooshing' sound as he went. All the while, I was giggling and squealing. "Faster Aniki! Faster!" He ran out of the room using his ninja speed as we ran through the compound. Adults would laugh at our antics but wouldn't get in our way or stop us.

"Get them!" I heard Sasuke shout behind us. Itachi slowed and looked behind him. Perched on top of Shisui's shoulders was Sasuke in all his 3-year-old glory. "Don't let them escape!" he shouted again. Shisui took off running towards us.

"Aniki, run!" I yelled and Itachi sped off. I looked back and saw them gaining on us. "Come on, Itachi-nii!" He sped up with a smirk. We now had entered Konoha and Shisui with Sasuke were still at our heals.

"We can catch them Shisui-san!" Sasuke shouted.

"Hana-nii-san, can we do that?" Kiba said as we ran by. His sister picked him up onto her shoulders and began to run after us.

"I'll show you Uchiha that we Inuzuka are better than you!" Hana shouted as she caught up to Shisui. We turned a corner and the older kids slid to a stop. I looked up and saw why. There stood Fugaku, Hizashi, and Tsume with broad smiles on their faces.

"Otou-san, that was fun! Can we go again?" Sasuke asked excitedly. Fugaku picked his son off of Shisui's shoulders and laughed. Hizashi took me as Tsume took Kiba. Fugaku pulled Itachi over to hug him and winked at Shisui. Tsume did the same with Hana.

"As long as I'm your ride," Fugaku answered. He winked at his fellow adults. "You kids have to catch us!" With that, I sat on my dad's shoulders, Sasuke on my step dad/his dad, and Kiba was on Tsume's.

The funniest thing was, we came home covered in mud and Oka-san yelled at us. Tsume didn't even mind, she just grinned through the filth and walked her kids home.

(End of Flashback)

It was so fun then! Oh well, better stop living in the past and get to the task at hand. I first cleaned the floor, dusted all the shelves, and vacuumed the furniture. Finishing the living room, I moved to the kitchen. I through all the spoilt food into a trash bag, quickly bringing it outside because I couldn't handle the smell.

I cleaned the counters, the appliances, and the shelves. I then moved through the rooms. I resisted going into Itachi's room, so I moved to Sasuke. I put all his old toys into his toy-chest, straightened his bedding, and removed all the dust from all the surfaces. I couldn't resist going into Itachi's, so I did go in.

His room looked like any other teenaged shinobi's room. He had weapons all around along a few posters of ninja idols. One was of his the Yondiame, another of the Sannin with an ex through Orochimaru. He had a picture of his shinobi graduate year. There was also a picture of Itachi, Shisui, and Hana smiling with their Jounin-sensei, Daikoku Funeno who was also their Academy instructor. He went back to teaching when they all reached Chunin level. There was also a picture of Itachi with both of us on his back and shoulders. There was even one with the whole Uchiha and Hyuga clan. There must have a hundred of us.

I cleaned through everything in his room making sure not to mess with his stuff too much. The last room I went to was my own.

I entered my room and scanned around it. It looked exactly like it should except with a layer of dust on it. I dusted everything before sitting on my bed. The walls were a light shade of purple, the flooring was a light bamboo hardwood. I remember dancing around on the floor after practicing my Kata. Only Oka-san knew about my secret training, but everyone heard about my dancing. No one saw me, because most of it was just twirling around and being random. I had fun in this room.

"Bailey? Ah, I thought you'd be here." I turned around to see the Sandiame. "I like what you did to the place. It actually looks peaceful."

"Thank you, but mind me asking why you're here?" I inquired. He chuckled and sat beside me.

"I can't come and see if you're alright?" I rose a skeptic eyebrow at him. "I know it's your time off but I have a mission for you," he said. I nodded reassuringly. "I need you to go into the forest of death and decapitate Orochimaru. He's going after Sasuke." My eyes widened in shock. Already?

"I'm on it!" I yelled. I stood up and bowed to him and began to run. He grabbed my shoulder.

"Just teleport to the gate. Take this. It gives you permission. Just leave it on the gate," he said. I smiled and bowed again before disappearing. I'm coming Nii-san.

I reached the gate and posted the slip on it before entering. I activated my Byakugan and followed the killing intent. They were still out of range of the Byakugan, but I kept running. About two kilometers in, I finally caught sight of them. My range reached for ten miles. They were all the way on the other side. Just great!

I ran all the way there and the whole time I watched it. I saw Orochimaru nearly bite Sasuke, I saw Naruto fighting the giant snake, and even Sakura get nearly get killed. Nearly there!

I burst into there and in front of Sasuke as Naruto appeared. Sasuke began to yell at Naruto and Orochimaru used that as a time to attack. I jumped in to intercept the it. I groaned in pain as he jammed me in the stomach.

"Take the scroll and leave us!" Sasuke yelled. I rammed a kunai into Orochimaru's gut.

"Sasuke, he doesn't want the scroll! He-" I was cut off as he hit me in the stomach again. "HE WANTS YOU SASUKE!" Orochimaru grabbed me and through me around. My back connected with a tree. It seemed that Sasuke just noticed I was there. I got my feet as he summoned Manda, his giant snake.

"You had your chance Bailey! By refusing, you guaranteed your own death," he said slowly. I growled in anger and lunged at him in furry. Manda swung his tale at me. I placed my hand on it and threw myself into the air. I barreled toward Orochimaru, my fist making contact with his face.

"God damn it guys! Help me!" I yelled as Orochimaru recovered. Naruto jumped into action, nearly getting eaten at the same time. He suddenly when Kyubi and he gained the snake man's attention. I charged chakra into my arms, running at Orochimaru. "Jūho Sōshiken!" I yelled ramming them at Orochimaru. He grabbed my shoulder, avoiding the chakra, and pushed me out of the way. Instead of trying to hit him again, I directed it to Manda. He yelled in pain and the summoning disappeared.

"Sasuke-kun, now it's your turn! What will you do?" Orochimaru yelled running at Sasuke. Naruto came into intercept it while I recovered. Orochimaru grabbed Naruto with his tongue, using a seal onto his stomach. He was then thrown against a tree with a kunai to keep him in place.

"Sasuke-kun, it's true that unlike you, Naruto is clumsy and can get in the way, but at least he's not a coward, right?" Sakura yelled at him. At that moment, something in Sasuke snapped, but I had a feeling it wasn't from what Sakura said. His Sharingan activated as he threw a Fūma Shuriken and two kunai. I saw the twinge of a wire and couldn't help but smirk. Good thinking, nii-san. He then used a Katon jutsu against the wires.

"To be able to use the Sharingan at this age…you truly are a man that carries the Uchiha blood. Just as I thought…I want you," he said sadistically as the skin on his face peeled away to reveal his normal one. "I had fun testing your powers. You really are brothers. I sense power in your eyes that surpass Itachi's."

"Well don't forget the sister!" I yelled jumping up behind him, my eyes spinning in the Mangekyou. His eyes widened as I cast Amaterasu on him. My right eye began to burn in pain as Orochimaru was engulfed in the black flame. Blood trickled from my eye, blurring the vision in it.

He quickly bit Sasuke and used a kunai to cut the hair and clothing caught ablaze. "Sasuke-kun will seek me to seek power," he said. I sworn out loud. "If all else fails, this will be you, Bailey. You truly are a powerful Uchiha and Hyuga. Now I've had my fun. I best be off." I growled as he disappeared.

Sasuke let out an agonizing cry of pain and he fell to his knees clutching his neck. "What did he give him? Who was he?" Sakura yelled. Sasuke let out another cry.

"He's Orochimaru," I went over to Sasuke, seeing the curse mark forming. "He gave Sasuke a curse mark. His heavenly curse mark. Orochimaru must really want our blood." I answered laying a gentle hand on Sasuke's neck. His arms let way and Sakura caught his hand, both of theirs trembling in pain and sorrow. I began to push chakra into the mark to help it accept Sasuke. "If this is to reject him, he will die. I can't let that happen," I muttered to myself. Sakura stared wide-eyed at me, tears pouring down her face.

"What do I do?" Sakura said to herself.

"Get Naruto off of there and bring him to me," I said continuing to push chakra into the mark. Sasuke stopped yelling and his breathing began to slow. She brought Naruto over. "Follow me with him."

We ran to a secluded spot I knew with a tree to hide in. I placed Sasuke down and told Sakura to stay here. I caught fish in the spring also bringing back cold washcloths to put on the boys' foreheads. "What do I do, Bailey-san?" Sakura asked.

"Stay here. Change the clothes so they are always cold. I can't heal them because it's against the rules and I can get you guys disqualified and Sasuke would never forgive me for that," I started. She nodded. "Also stay hidden. You will not stand a chance against an enemy right now. Try not to fall asleep either. You are their only chance. This place is dangerous Sakura, always remember that. Lastly, if need be, ally yourself with another team or two. Go with a friend though, not someone you don't." Sakura nodded nervously.

"Bailey, I'm scared. I don't want to die," Sakura said. I hugged her to me.

"You'll be fine, just remember what I said okay," I whispered into your ear. "I have faith in you. You're a strong kunoichi, Sakura. Good luck." I stood up placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. I sprinted off. The Hokage had to hear about this.


	7. The Genin Fight with YOUTH!

I was knelt at the Hokage's feet. "Hokage-sama, I was unable to capture Orochimaru and he was able to give Sasuke a heaven curse mark like Anko's. I was able to make it accept him, but I did not heal them in anyway," I said to him as I looked up. He nodded deep in thought.

"You are dismissed. You will be notified if another team passes," he replied. I bowed in respect and left his chambers. I spent the rest of the day relaxing.

The next day, no one passed it so it was still the two teams. However on the third day both Team Gai and Team 10 passed. The same ANBU member came and got me. We both headed over.

"How are my youthful students?" I heard Gai shout to his team when I arrived. I sighed, but a mischievous grin spread its way onto my face. I looked down to see both teams standing next to each other. I placed a foot on the railing of the higher ledge. I threw myself over, landing straight on Neji's back. He staggered around before falling on his stomach.

"Bailey-san, that was most un-youthful!" Lee shouted at me. I stared at him innocently and I saw Asuma shiver from the corner of my eye.

"How is it not youthful to want to hug my Aniki?" I asked staring at him with my innocent eyes. Gai began to tell Lee that he mustn't jump to conclusions. I felt Neji squirm under me, trying to get out of my grasp. I smiled at him with an evil glint in my eyes that went unnoticed by the spandex fools.

"Imouto, can you get off me, now? You're crushing my back," he huffed. I smacked him playfully, but got off him anyway.

"Wait! You have a sister?" Ino shrieked behind us. I looked at her like she was dumb.

"What was your first hint, me calling him Aniki or him calling me Imouto?" I asked sarcastically. She scoffed and turned away embarrassed. I nudged my brother and motioned to Hinata and her team farther into the room. He grew angry, but I glared at him, succeeding in making him shut up.

"How come she doesn't look like you Neji? If I didn't know any better, I would think she was Sasuke's sister," Shikamaru stepped forward. I stared at him. He really is a genius.

"That is because I'm both their siblings, but the Uchiha blood is dominate. I was an accident, but at least I brought the two clans together at one point," I replied. I was suddenly being dragged away by a desperate looking Ino. I quickly slipped my wrist from her grip and walked away from her. "Thank Kami, I'm a Jounin! She's got a grip."

"You should've seen my first day with them," Asuma said. I started laughing just at the mere thought of it. "Although, I would have liked to see Kakashi's first day."

"That was so funny. He was hours late, he kicked the Genin's butts, and he left Naruto tied to a post," I said. "Funniest thing was he buried Sasu-nii head deep into the ground. Sakura saw that and went crazy. It was awesome!" I heard Neji snort at my nickname for Sasuke.

"You have got to show me that later!" Asuma said. At that moment Ibiki came up behind me again. He put me, yet again, in a headlock. I started calling out for help, gaining the attention of the other two teams. It was also at that moment, when I started squealing to get him off me to add humor; the Oto Genin came in with their Jounin-sensei.

"What the hell?" I heard an Oto Genin say. Ibiki let me go. I rubbed the back of my head to remove the feeling of me being in the headlock. I glared at him, but he just smiled at me. He's such a jerk!

"That was so not cool! Ibiki-san, you were out of line!" I pouted. He ruffled my hair making me glare again. He just laughed and walked away to find Anko. Now back on topic. "Neji-nii, why did you have to be in the same Chunin Exams as Sasuke? I've been getting bored at home!"

"Well, excuse me for succeeding in getting away from you," he said smirking playfully. I lightly hit his shoulder. Lee and Gai began to yell at him while the Oto team just kept staring at us like we were insane.

"Bailey?" I heard from higher up. I looked up to see Hiashi-sama. Neji and I bowed in synch before I jumped up to meet him. "I would like to talk to you in private. Good to see you passed nephew." I saw Neji scoff.

He led us back to the Hyuga manor and into his office. He sat behind his desk as I took a seat at one of the guest chairs. "You wished to see me Hyuga-sama?" I had to use formalities in his office.

"Keep an eye on your brother for me, will you? I can easily see hate for Hinata in his eyes along with the main family and I resent not telling him the truth sooner. I will tell him once the exams are over," Hiashi informed me. I nodded my head. It was about time he did. I was getting seriously angry with Neji and his talk of destiny.

"I would like to request you attend the preliminary round of the exam and watch from the viewing room with the other council members. I want you to see how well Hinata has improved. It would mean the world to her," I told him.

"I'd like to go if I didn't have to run the clan," he answered. Apparently we were on better terms now, but just barely.

"Get Hachi to run it while you're gone. Parenting always comes before the rest of the family," I yelled at him. I bowed respectively before leaving in rage. Hiashi was silent as I left so I have no idea what I thought.

I stood with the rest of the people watching the preliminaries. Before us stood, the Sand Siblings, which is what we have resorted to call them, Team 8, Team 10, Team Gai, Kabuto's team, the Oto team, and Team 7. I wasn't able to talk to my brother but I saw him clutching his neck. It must still be hurting him, but at least he was alive.

The Hokage explained the meaning of the exams along with the rules of the preliminaries. A couple of the Genin would interrupt but he was patient and made it through the speech. On the board where we would see who was to fight next, the names began to be scrambled. I heard the Jounin fighting over letting Sasuke stay or not.

"We should take him out of this exam for the ANBU to watch over and protect him…" Anko said. She was nervous and wanted him to be under surveillance.

"He's the type that won't easily agree to that since he's from the Uchiha clan after all," Kakashi defended. The Hokage let Sasuke stay. The names came to a stop. Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi was the first match. Just great, Sasuke was in the first fight.

The two stepped forward. The other man was from Kabuto's team, but it was at that point I noticed Kabuto had dropped out. My eyes narrowed. He was up to something. It's been 5 years already and he has yet to pass. Everyone was said to head up.

Both Kakashi and I confronted him. "Don't use the Sharingan. If it were to activate you could lose your life. If it does, I'll jump in and stop it," Kakashi said. Sasuke's eyes widened and he placed a light hand on the mark.

"It'll bend to your will, so make sure your desire not to activate it is stronger than your desire to win," I added. He nodded and I gave him a quick hug before jumping up to the watching area with Kakashi. "Go get him, Nii-san! Whoop his ass!" I yelled and I saw a light smirk spread its way onto his face.

The match began with Yoroi throwing three shuriken while Sasuke drew a kunai. Right after Sasuke rebound them back at him, he fell over in pain. Yoroi went over and slammed his palm down at Sasuke, barely missing. Sasuke used his legs and the kunai to swing the guy off him, but the arm remained on his shirt near his neck. The hand began to glow green as he brought his arm back and punched Sasuke. It looked as if his energy was being drained along with his chakra.

Yoroi grabbed Sasuke's head and he nearly went limp. He let out a pained yell. Suddenly bringing his leg up, Sasuke pushed Yoroi off him. "Sasuke, are you really Uchiha Sasuke? Is that the best you can do?" Naruto yelled at him.

Suddenly Yoroi charged but Sasuke kicked his jaw, launching him into the air. He jumped into the air making sure to kick him to keep him up. "That's my technique," I heard Lee mutter near me. I looked up to see all of Team Gai in shock. It was then the unthinkable happened.

The curse mark began to react to Sasuke's rage and began to take hold of him. I shot Kakashi a look with a foot on the railing. The mark began to recede. His will was gaining control again and I placed my foot back on the ground. He again began to kick his opponent. With one last kick, I was able to recognize the attack. It was Lee's Lion-Rendan taijutsu move.

Both were now down for the count. Sasuke was on his stomach while Yoroi was on his back. Sasuke began to struggle up onto his knees while Hayate checked Yoroi. He then announced Sasuke the winner.

"Well, good job," Kakashi said as he appeared behind Sasuke. I jumped over the railing and to over to Sasuke. He lurched forward in pain. Kakashi and I exchanged a glance, him asking if he could seal it. I nodded as the medical team came in.

"Uchiha Sasuke, let the medical team treat your injuries now," the head questioned more than demanded.

"You guys are not needed. We'll take care of him," Kakashi said. He kneeled down near Sasuke's ear. "I'm going to take you to the back and seal up the curse mark." I looked up at the screen as the next set of opponents came on.

"C'mon Sasuke, we have to go. I'll keep you posted on the battle and give you a bio on Shino since you've already fought Zaku," I told him. We walked into the back room with pillars around it.

Kakashi cut his palm and began to write signs around the area and on Sasuke while I placed kunai around. When I was done, I kept Sasuke posted on Shino and Zaku's fight until Kakashi preformed the jutsu. He placed the cut palm onto the mark and began the jutsu. Sasuke cried out a few times.

I noticed Orochimaru come up behind us as Sasuke passed out. It didn't look like Kakashi noticed him yet, but I could feel the blood lust in the air. "So, you can even use sealing jutsu now. You've grown Kakashi," the snake man said. Kakashi stiffened at the voice. He turned around to face us. "Ah, the idiot Uchiha is here, too, how fortunate for me."

"Orochimaru," I hissed in rage. Kakashi glanced over to see me take a defensive position over Sasuke. "Won't you give up? You'll never get the Uchiha blood. You'll never get him to Oto!" My Byakugan was still active as I glared.

"So, that's what your Byakugan looks like. Shame, I thought it would be better than that. All of my ninja in this exam are all just my pawns, so I'll just send them to kill you," he said with an evil smirk. I continued to glare as Kakashi took up a defensive position himself.

"Don't come any closer to Sasuke! I sealed the curse mark," Kakashi yelled at him. Orochimaru began to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"The seal you did was useless. He will eventually seek me for revenge. There is no stopping that," he turned his back to us. I growled as Kakashi charged up his Raikiri. He was about to charge when I stopped him. He looked up. Orochimaru was already gone. He cursed.

The medical team came in and took Sasuke to get further treatment while Kakashi and I appeared back in the arena. I looked around to see the match had ended. Shino won. The names began to scramble again. Tsurugi Misumi vs. Kankuro went up onto the screen. I didn't really pay attention to the match, but Kankuro won.

The next set of names appeared on the screen, two that shocked me, Haruno Sakura vs. Yamanaka Ino. Oh, this would not end well. The two walked down the stairs and onto the field with determination. I have a bad feeling about this.

"Sakura, I never thought I'd be fighting you," Ino said. Sakura pulled her forehead protector out from in her hair. She stared at Ino with a blank look.

"Right now, I have no intention of fighting over Sasuke-kun with you," Sakura said holding her forehead protector tighter in frustration, but it didn't show on her face.

"What was that?"

"You and Sasuke-kun don't go together anyway and I'm completely stronger than you are right now. I don't even need to be concerned with you right now," she mocked, a smirk playing across her face. Ino grew mad at this.

"Sakura, who do you think you're talking to? Don't get ahead of yourself, cry-baby Sakura!" Ino yelled. I smirked at what Sakura was trying to do. She was trash talking Ino to get her to take her seriously. This match will definitely be entertaining.

Ino removed her forehead protector from her waist and tied onto her forehead. Sakura tied hers to her forehead as well. Sakura made three Bushin, charging at Ino. "This isn't the graduation exam. You think you can defeat me with textbook jutsu like that?" Ino yelled dodging. She didn't expect Sakura to get rid of them and throw a punch that connected with her jaw.

"If you think I'm still the same cry-baby Sakura then you will be hurting. Get serious Ino!" Sakura yelled. Ino wiped the place where she was punched as she stood. She smirked and nodded. Now here we go.

The two charged at each other, both throwing a punch with their right hand. Their left hands caught the punch as they squared off glaring. The two pushed off of the other, throwing shuriken that connected. They charged again, and again threw a punch. However, this time, both fists contacted with the other's face. Both girls went flying back. By now, they had been fighting for ten minutes straight.

"There's no way you could be even with me!" Ino yelled in frustration.

"Heh, of course! How could I be even with someone who only worries about her hair and looking pretty?" Sakura countered. Something inside Ino snapped. She grabbed her hair and with a kunai, she cut it and threw it out over the battleground. She then made the hand sign for Shintenshin.

I looked over to see Shikamaru freaking out. Aw, he does care! Okay, I'll shut up and tune back into the battle. Sakura began to run around to get around it, but when she did, she got caught in Ino's hair mixed with her chakra causing her to freeze. Ino than preformed the jutsu. I looked to see Shika relax.

Suddenly, Ino began to hold her head. She released the jutsu. It seems she met Sakura's inner. I had met her during training, and trust me it wasn't pretty. The girls lunged at each other again. Their fists connected with their faces and both girls flew back, knocked out.

The fifth match was between Temari and Tenten. The whole fight was of Tenten throwing weapons with Temari reflecting them back with her wind jutsu. You could easily tell that Temari was on a higher level than Tenten.

The sixth match was between Shikamaru and the sound-nin Kin. Using his Kage Mane no Jutsu, he was able to knock Kin out by ramming her head into the wall. It was quite boring really. Shikamaru used easy moves that with the correct planning would be easily to escape and counter.

The seventh match was Naruto vs. Kiba. I don't have much to say on this fight, except for Naruto's amazing timing of his Henge no Jutsu. I still can't believe Naruto beat him with a fart, too. That was just unpredictable and sad. Poor Kiba, though. He was forced to smell that!

The eighth match was about to begin. Then on the screen, the names Hyuga Hinata vs. Hyuga Neji appeared on the screen. I growled. "Neji! You better not hurt her badly or so help me, you will never be able to move again!" I yelled at him when he was facing Hinata. He rolled his eyes. "Neji!"

Hinata grew timid as Neji told her to forfeit. As he rambled about the different branches of the clan and how much superior he is to her. I growled again and I saw Kankuro give me a look. "Stop deciding things about people, idiot! Kick that bastard's ass, Hinata!" Her confidence sky-rocketed.

Both of their Byakugan were active as they got into the Hyuga taijutsu stance. I wonder what Hiashi is thinking if he came. They both ran forward at each other and began to throw Jyuken. Hinata got a tap to his side, but it didn't cause any damage. I activated my own Byakugan. Her opening points in her arms were burnt from chakra exiting them. That's why none of her attacks worked.

He threw a Jyuken that hit her heart. He was trying to kill her. "Neji!" I yelled in frustration. After a few more hits, Hinata was nearly down for the count. Everyone thought she was but after some encouraging words from Naruto, she stood.

"There is no need to suffer. Let it go," Neji said.

"That's not true Neji-nii-san because I can see; it's not me at all. The person lost and suffering within the main and branch houses is you," she said holding her side. My eyes widened. That had hit a nerve in Neji. I saw his eyes narrow and he lunged. He was going to kill her!

"Neji-kun, this match is over!" Hayate yelled kicking into action. Kakashi, Kurenai, and Gai all came to stop him with me. Kurenai grabbed his arm while her leg was wrapped around his to trip him if he were to move. Gai had Neji in a headlock while Kakashi had his other arm. I nodded to everyone as they let him go and I pinned him to the ground.

"What did I tell you about hurting her?" I hissed into his ear. He growled. "Neji-nii-san, your superiority complex is your downfall." He growled again and tried to get me off him. I picked Neji up and let him confront Naruto.

"I swear I'll beat you," Naruto said. I let him go giving him a warning glance before running after the medics that took Hinata. Her breath was shallow and her heart rate was terribly slow.

She was rushed into an emergency room. I was allowed to enter as I was the only Hyuga there. I opened up the chakra networks near her heart first before slowing the chakra flow in her arm back to normal. The medics then let me leave.

I went to see Tenten, Kiba, and Sasuke. Tenten was awake. She would be able to leave in a few days. Kiba was in the same condition. Sasuke was unconscious still. I wasn't surprised by that.

I was about to leave when Lee was raced in with Gai-sensei at his side. "Gai-sensei, what happened to him?" I looked at Lee. His arm and leg seemed to be crushed, bits of sand were also near him, and he was unconscious. Gai looked to be crying. I led him away so the medics could work.

"Lee had to fight that Suna ninja. His sand was near impossible to evade, so Lee opened…" he trailed off. My eyes widened. Gai taught Lee the Eight Celestial Gates!

"How many gates did he open?" I asked. He didn't reply. "Gai! How many did he open?" He stayed silent as I stopped him and looked straight into his eyes.

"Five gates, he opened five gates," Gai said. My eyes widened. His muscles must be torn to shreds! Gai stopped his crying and sat on a nearby bench. I sat down in shock. Poor Lee, he is probably in so much pain right now. The gates are like a double-edged sword. While the technique is extremely powerful, it slowly tears you apart as you use them.

"I hope Lee gets better. He'll be glad you're here Gai, but I can't be here right now. After so long of being in a hospital, I start getting nervous," I said waving. "I'll be back to check Hina-chan's condition, later."


	8. ANBU Training, what did I get into?

It's been two weeks since the preliminary round in the Chunin Exams. Hinata was recovering and Lee's condition wasn't any better. Naruto was training with Jiraiya and Sasuke was away with Kakashi. Neji was training hard with Tenten. I helped teach him a few techniques earlier.

Right now, I had gained my training ANBU mask and was waiting to get started with the training. I looked around at my colleagues. There was only one other girl here. From the look of her, she was at least twice as old as me. I was also one of the youngest in the entire group.

"Okay everyone; this is day one of the ANBU training of sixty. We will spend two months in this valley. We will stay in the cabins over there," the man in charge and in a Cat mask motioned to the cabins at the outside of the valley. "Some of you could die during this training, though I highly doubt it. You all have been specially chosen by either Sandiame-sama or an ex-ANBU. Good luck! Now, are there any questions?"

A man towards the end raised his hand, "Can we remove our masks?"

"Excellent question. Yes you may remove your masks and state your name, but only to your cabin mates. Although it is wise to have few people knowing your identity. Even though they are comrades, you never know when they might turn on you," he replied. Another man, this one in an Owl mask came forward. He looked older than the Cat masked man and from his mask he must have a higher place in charge.

"Today, there won't be any training until night has fallen. Right now you will get your cabins and meet your cabin mates. I suggest you use the rest of your day resting up," Owl said. He then went around and assigned us cabins. The other girl and I were they only ones in the cabin while the guys were about four to a cabin. There were ten cabins in total so about 38 of us.

I entered my cabin and found her already in there with her mask removed. She had a young face and looked to be around her early twenties. I removed my own mask and shock was written across her face. "You must be my cabin mate. I'm Bailey, 11, and currently a Jounin rank," I said placing my bag on my bed. They allowed us to bring a few personal items as long as we didn't communicate with anyone outside the training.

"Kaede, 24, and also currently Jounin rank," she answered. Her maple brown hair flowed down to the small of her back. Her hair matched her name for Kaede meant maple. "You seem so young. Who recommended you to become an ANBU?"

"Kakashi recommended me, but he doesn't know I went through with it. I told him I wasn't going to go through with it, so don't tell him," I put a hand to my lips and winked.

"Well, Sandiame-sama recommended me," she replied. I nodded and took the picture frame of my team out of the bag, placing it on the side table with utmost respect. "Who are they?" she asked motioned to the picture.

"My partners," I replied coldly. She paid the ice in my voice no heed.

"What rank are they?" she asked nicely. I turned around and glared at her in anger.

"They're KIA and they were my best friends. Now, I don't want to talk about them," I said with my voice shaking. She nodded and looked at me with sympathy. I turned back around and pulled out a picture of Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei chasing after me. I was holding Kakashi's book and I had Iruka's wallet. Plus I had ruined their 'date', though they wouldn't admit it.

"I remember seeing that. You were what 9?" Kaede said. "I could hear them yelling from two streets over. What did you do to get them so pissed? I mean, Iruka is so calm and can usually control his anger."

"I stole his wallet and Kakashi's book. Plus, I ruined their date," I mocked. She laughed as I pulled out the last picture. It was of Itachi, Sasuke, Neji, and me. I was on Itachi's shoulders, Sasuke was standing next to him, and Neji was pouting on the other side of him. I was about two there and everything was nice and nothing was wrong.

I continued to pull out under clothes and pajamas. I pulled out my blue iPod. The night before I had bought it and put all my CDs on it solely to entertain me during this training. The last thing I pulled out was my lucky kunai. I rarely used it but I held onto it for luck. My toiletries were what remained in my bag.

"So how long have you been a Jounin?" she asked me. I looked up from looking at my kunai.

"Less than a year now, but Kakashi made me wait to take the exams for a while. He wanted me to shock them with my skills," I replied and smiled. "Boy did I do that." She laughed with me.

"I've been a Jounin for five years now. My husband has finally allowed me to try and advance my rank. He only let me if I agreed to have a child with him when we turn thirty," she laughed and handed me a picture of the happy couple.

I handed it back. "Well, the baby would look as beautiful as its mother. Who knows, maybe when its older it'll have fan girls or fan boys. If they're so cute, maybe both," I replied laughing. "Man, it was torture with all those fans chasing after my nii-sans."

"It would give them great stealth skills," she mocked with me.

"Unless, they have the brain of a lemur," I replied referring to Sasuke. "Sasuke didn't even know he had fan girls until two years ago." We were laughing when Owl knocked on the door. We quickly put on out masks and let him in. He had long black hair. Something about it made me question who Owl really was. Suddenly, a breeze went by and a sent of raspberry filled my nose. It was then that I knew who Owl was.

"Hello girls, I just came by to see if there is anything you need," he asked. I looked at him with amusement, though he couldn't see it at all.

"Since when did you become so sweet to me?" I asked him running a hand through my hair. He crossed his arms in front of him and gave a sigh.

"How do you know who I am, Miss," he asked appearing behind me with a kunai at my neck.

"You always use the same shampoo. I would know. I found the bottle hidden in my bathroom the day we had the feudal lord over," I replied.

He turned to Kaede, "Leave us to chat, please," he said. She bowed and exited the cabin. "Now, tell me who you are and how you know who I am."

I removed my mask, "Hiashi, it's Bailey and again let me tell you that you use the same raspberry shampoo everyday. I caught a whiff of it with the breeze," I replied. He removed the kunai and I faced him. He then removed his own mask.

"Tell no one you know who I am. No one from the clan knows I am here or that I'm top ANBU. The only ones who know are you and Tsunade," he replied placing his mask back on. "Although, I won't go easy on you, even if you're my niece. I will, however, give you some space," he went on.

"Thank you, you're secret's safe with me," I replied. He exited and Kaede reentered. I lay down on my bed and relaxed. I ended up taking a nap and was awakened by Kaede. It was nightfall.

"Quickly get up, Owl has called us to the center," Kaede demanded. I rushed up and placed my mask on my face. I had yet to change from early. I rushed out the door behind her. We arrived in the nick of time.

"Okay, everyone, your first day if training starts now!" Cat shouted out to everyone. "We want everyone to get into pairs and he can't be your cabin mate," Cat continued. He clapped his hands together and began counting down from ten. A man in his early twenties or late teens came up to me.

"Will you be my partner?" he asked. I nodded. "Thank you! Some of the guys in this place don't really like me. They find me a total nut case." I began to laugh. He stepped back in bewilderment. "You think I'm insane, don't you?"

"Not at all! In fact, you have more sanity than me!" I laughed. "I haven't had sanity for years! I lost that a long time ago. You'll fit in just fine with me." By now, Cat had finished counting down and everyone was paired up.

"The first thing I want you all to do is spar. We want to test your abilities, so don't hold back," Cat said. Everyone took a section of the field and I stood across from my insane partner. Kaede was squaring off with a man somewhere in his thirties. I could see the hidden smirk on her face and I knew he was going down.

I smirked behind my mask as Owl shouted for us to start. Insane (which is what I resorted to call him) and I lunged at each other with kunai drawn. I quickly vanished once we were a few feet away. He stopped in shock and looked all around him. I activated my Sharingan and went toward him from behind, after he checked there of course. Once I was close, I powered up a Katon: Gōen Rasengan and pulled it toward me. Insane turned around and I slammed it toward him. He managed to dodge most of it, but I still caught his shoulder. His ANBU garb caught flame as I landed behind him. Using a Suiton technique, he engulfed himself in a bubble of water, immediately extinguishing the flames. Suddenly, the water bubble shot towards me. I formed hand seals and once it neared I let the jutsu take.

"Suiton: Suihachi," I whispered. A jet of water out of palm and I formed it to make a shield for the bubble to bounce off of. Just as expected, Insane lost his control of his jutsu and the bubble fell to form a puddle on the ground. He ran towards me as I let the jutsu drop. He ran over the puddle as I formed hand signs again. "Suiton: Suigadan," I said. The water around him shot up, spinning, and incased him in water. That technique could usually kill someone but there was enough water. The water kept him frozen from the chin down.

Owl then came over to us. "Release your partner and start a real fight not a spar," he ordered. I nodded and let the water drop. We bowed in respect and again took fighting stances. I changed my stance to a Taijutsu one and he copied.

I ran at him again, but instead of disappearing like I did last time, I threw a quick punch. My Sharingan was active so I was able dodge and counter. He still was able get a good couple of kicks and punches on me. I threw a punch, which he caught, and he threw a punch, which I caught. We were squaring of with strength. I knew I was going to lose, so I used his force to propel me backward and into the air. I then placed a Genjutsu on my fingers and pretended to form hand signs. He watched my hands and it was then I took control of the Genjutsu.

In the Genjutsu, I was still before him weaving hand signs. I created a fireball and shot that towards him so nothing looked amiss. I then charged and it was then he found out he couldn't move. The fireball disappeared before it reached him and I ran out of it and placed a hand on his head, searching for his worst fears. I had found it just as he broke the Genjutsu.

"Impressive, few people have done that before," I lied to get him feeling confident. When he became too arrogant, he would begin to fight with serious flaws. He got into a (flawed) Taijutsu stance and charged. I caught a punch and used his momentum to throw him into the air. I appeared above him and started the Hakke Shitenkūshō a move that made me Hakke Kūshō (Empty Fist) him three times and slamming him to the ground.

I landed down near him. I then noticed that everyone was watching us. Owl and Cat began to clap and the others joined in shortly. I helped Insane up as medics came to heal him. "That was a great fight. I look forward to see people fight with such strength. He will be alright. I noticed she missed everything vital and he should make a smooth recovery in about a day or so. Miss, I'd like to speak to after we get everyone started up on the training. Don't worry you'll catch up," Owl said. I nodded.

"You all will follow me in our running. If you are to get too far behind, you will fail and leave the training. You will then, only be able to try out again in five years. Keep up," Cat said cheerfully and began to run at a slow pace toward the mountains at the east of where we stood. Everyone else took off running.

"Bailey, you did excellent in your match. Listen, your Hyuga techniques will come in handy here, but I don't want them to be used often. Maybe once or twice in a match just like you did. No one knows what you did, but keep the Hyuga and Uchiha techniques on the down low unless you want to be found out," I nodded in response. "Now go and catch up." I nodded and ran off to catch up.

Cat picked up speed every quarter of a mile as we ran. We ran for about two hours (in total darkness might I remind you) and for a good ten miles. We lost two guys during the whole run around the eight mile point.

"Okay, everyone, now that we have finished our run, we're moving onto gathering information," Cat said. I looked around to see a few people panting, and everyone else breathing deeply, like me. "You have to remember the order." He began flashing cards to us in a rapid pace and I smirked as my brain began to memorize them. Some people around me began to stare in disbelief at the quickness of his movements.

"Anyone feels they can spell out what he flashed," Owl asked coming up. I raised my hand along with another man. Owl pulled out another set of cards and handed them to the man. "Fine, put them in order." Cat handed me his own after shuffling them.

I knelt down on the ground and scattered the cards. I then used my hands to slide them into place as I recalled the order he flashed them in. This is where being an Uchiha comes in handy. Though, I didn't use my Sharingan, Uchihas learn to track things with their eyes. I think Hiashi wouldn't have let me prove it if he saw my Sharingan active because he could probably see through our masks with his Byakugan.

"Done," the man next to me said. I slid the last one in place and announced me finishing. Mine read: TO BE AN ANBU YOU MUST HAVE A FAST PUPIL. His read the same thing. Cat came up behind us and observed the letters.

"Correct for the both of you," he said. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. "These two can be our assistants in the next form of training." He stepped back and surveyed the group. Kaede raised her hand. "Yes miss?"

"I ask that you confirm that Owl did not slip her the answer before our jog," she said. I could feel the bewilderment rolling off not only myself but the two ANBU as well. Why would she dare accuse me of cheating like that? Okay, I can understand it, but I did not cheat!

"I am aware of what he told her before our jog and I will tell you that he did not slip her the answer. That answer was as much her own as it was the man beside her. Owl simply was warning her before hand and all has been resolved, but I can see where you would get such suspicion," Cat replied honestly. Kaede nodded.

"Before we start, we must give this two the paint for their masks. Since they already have a quick eye, they get to choose what they would like near their eyes on their masks," Owl stated. "You all will eventually get that, and it is to only tell us which skills you have mastered. If you are to fail after receiving paint, the mask will be burned and your memory of what you've done here erased." He stepped forward with blue, red, and black paint. "Follow."

We followed him into the woods nearby and he placed us on opposite ends of a tree so we wouldn't see each other's identity. I painted a black line running over the holes for the eyes and did a few spikes jutting out in red on my mask. I gave Owl the paint back and placed it over my face again. Luckily the paint was fast drying. The man had finished and we headed back.

We saw Cat flashing cards at a slow pace as people memorized them. He picked up the speed still, but stopped still less than half the speed he went before. By now, the moon was high in the sky and I guessed it'd be about eleven or midnight.

"That is all for now, at 7am sharp, I want you up and ready for breakfast. After breakfast your training will continue. Until then, I want you all to get some sleep. We won't go as late as we did tonight unless the training calls for it," Cat said. "You may return to your cabins."

(Kaede's POV)

Bailey and I walked back to the cabin in utter silence. I could see that her gaze was on the moon and not on myself. I'm so frustrated! She's younger than me and already she is better than me! I can't believe it! If I only knew what Owl warned her about, then maybe I could use that to my advantage.

We entered the cabin and her gaze turned to me fixed in a gaze of anger. "Why do you think I would cheat? I've been raised throughout my whole life that there is no shortcuts. There is no one that can make you obtain your goal but yourself. Kaede, do you honestly think I would cheat just because I'm at a disadvantage because of my age and size?" she asked hateful I could feel the sting come from her voice.

"No, I didn't think you'd cheat, but what I said was logical and if it means putting you on edge, than so be it!" I replied back glaring. "Listen missy, I got here from years of training, so don't think I'll just let you waltz on in here and steal that away from me!" Her expression turned from anger to hurt.

"You don't think I got here from years of training? Have you ever had your mother die in your arms? Have you ever seen the man you love die in front of your eyes in the middle of your own village?" she yelled at me. Shock coursed through me as tears welled in her eyes. Had that really happened to her. "No you haven't! You still have your parents, you still live with the man you love, and you have never felt the pain I have. The pain of having your heart wrenched out of your chest and torn." She was in tears now.

"Bailey, I'm sorry. I was out of line and I never should have doubted you or judged you like that. I guess I just let my anger get the best of me. Please forgive me," I apologized. Her tears slowly began to cease and she gazed back at me with shining onyx eyes. "I know I've never felt such pain and if it's alright with you, I hope we can still remain as good cabin mates maybe friends when this is all over."

She sniffed and looked directly at me. "I forgive you and I'd like to be your friend. Let's just hope neither of us fail and get our memories erased," she joked weakly. I smiled back and pulled her into a hug. She was more mature than I'd thought she'd be.


	9. The Attack On Konoha

It's been about a week now of training and I was stiff! Not just the Ow-it-hurts-stiff, but the I-can't-move-stiff. Every place in my body was sore and I don't know if I can last so much longer. I'm actually surprised I haven't been kicked out yet, but at least I got my first marking on my mask. I'm making my mask to look like a seal, kind of. The mark is a red squiggle line that runs down the top center of the mask.

Bailey still only has her eyes but she is working on the cheeks for hers. She's increasing her speed and her Taijutsu is increasing at a rapid pace. It's so rapid; I've having trouble keeping up during our warm up miles. She's getting farther and farther towards the front and I can't help but wonder if this training is taking any toll on her at all.

(Bailey's POV)

Everything is on fire with pain! I have to keep pushing myself, though. I try to help Kaede but she doesn't want it and I respect that, although, she has succeeded me in reflexives. I never like to resort to per reflex, but that is what I have to do here. I find it is rather exhausting.

I don't know exactly how much we have to do to pass, but that it will take another six weeks. I just can't help but wonder how many of us will pass or how many of us will lose our lives. I hope I make it through this.

"Hey Bailey, how do think the Chunin Exams are going? That was supposed to be today, wasn't it?" Kaede asked. I pictured Neji being punched into the stadium wall by Naruto. I pictured Sasuke being able to punch that Gaara kid. I also pictured Shikamaru flying away from that Temari girl. I chuckled at the mental thought.

"I think-" a sudden chill swept along my spine and my subconscious took over. "I fear something terrible has happened to not only our leader, but our village as well." I blinked in shock at just what had escaped my mouth. Kaede had an equally confused look on her face. As if on queue, a messenger hawk flew into the skies of the valley.

"Do you think-?" Kaede cut herself off as I placed my mask on my face and ran out of the cabin. She followed suit.

Owl held his hand up and allowed the hawk to land on his arm as I recognized the seal on the note the bird was carrying. It was the sign of top importance. My eyes widened as I saw him remove the note and read it. He called Cat over as he used a jutsu to make an alarm ring through the valley.

"The Sandiame is dead, isn't he?" I asked as Kaede stood at attention in front of him. He nodded in dread. I lowered my head in sorrow. "Was it Orochimaru?" I asked again. Both Kaede and Hiashi stared at me like I was growing a second head. Hiashi again nodded.

The rest of the ANBU trainees arrived near us and Owl spoke up. "We are needed in Konoha in the utmost urgency. Our Hokage has died by the hands of his student and we are to assist in keeping Konoha out of his hands. Training will resume as soon as this mess is over." Many ANBU stepped back in shock. "Teleport quickly." I made a hand sign and immediately smoke swept over me.

Thirty-six people poofed at the north gate of Konoha, instantly cutting off a few raging Suna and Oto ninja. With a leap, some sprung forward to engage the enemy ninja. I sprinted upward with Hiashi in tow. "I take it you have a clone here, am I right?" I asked he nodded.

"I'd never miss the final rounds of a Chunin Exam," he stated simply and sprinted toward the Hyuga compound. However, I didn't follow him. I went to the place I was sure Orochimaru would go to if he was escaping, the Hokage Monument. I just hope I could there before he escaped.

Discarding my mask into my pouch, I arrived at the top of the Shodai Hokage's head to see Orochimaru and the weasel Kabuto on the Sandiame's. I growled in frustration. "Orochimaru, I'm not done with you yet. You have put the curse mark on my brother, you have tried to get me to join you, but if you mess with Konoha, this Uchiha bitch will kill you. Now, fight me like a man!" I shouted in anger. Orochimaru nodded to Kabuto at his side and he lunged forward. I flipped backward on my hands to avoid his oncoming punch. Those cowards making his minion fight me instead of himself.

I kicked upward on the last back-flip connecting my foot with Kabuto's jaw. He stumbled back in pain, but recovered, throwing a blue chakra filled hand at me. I knocked it away, and kneed him in the gut. Blood spat out of his mouth and onto my pants leg as I shifted my leg to push him out of the way. Useless weasel.

I shot forward toward Orochimaru, a kunai raised to stab him. A sword and a snake suddenly appeared from his mouth and he kicked it toward me. It seems his hands are immobilized. I smirked as I knelt and let the sword fly over me.

By now, Kabuto had recovered and was charging towards me once again. I shifted into the respective stance needed to perform a Hyuga Jyuken. Throwing open palm after open palm of chakra, Kabuto was growing distraught as I continued to counter ever single throw of his arm. His attacks grew more and more flawed and wild making it easier for me to counter. With one final thrust of the arm towards me, I stepped my foot forward, slightly kicking his back foot out from under him.

Following slightly forward, I side-kicked him and he flew back once again. He nearly flew straight off the Nidaime's head. As he slowly crawled back up the rock face, I turned my attention back to Orochimaru. He was sulking away over the Yondiame's rock head. Jumping up, I latched onto his back and brought him stomach first to the ground.

"Give up now, Orochimaru!" I yelled placing a kunai to his throat. Suddenly, Kabuto's foot connected with the side of my head. I flew out toward the edge and was barely able to latch onto the side before I went over. Orochimaru got to his feet and walked over.

"Any last words, Miss Uchiha bitch?" Orochimaru said placing his foot down onto my hands. Though in deep shit right now, I couldn't help but think how cliché this is and how much it resembles Lion King. I winced in pain as he ground the heel of his foot into my hand. I pulled my second hand up and grabbed a hold of Orochimaru's ankle. I pulled him towards me. Unfortunately, it caused him to lose balance on his other leg and making my hand slip as well.

We both with tumbling off of the Hokage Monument. Kabuto's hand shot out and caught Orochimaru's leg and pulled him up as I tumbled to the ground. They smirked down and disappeared from my view as I continued to fall. My heart raced as impending doom loomed over my head. My eyes were as round as saucers and the only thing going through my mind was pure fear. I never knew I would end in such a way.

Before I reached the ground, however, a pair of oddly familiar arms caught me and landed to the ground. I looked into a pair of blue orbs. The brown haired boy set me down and ran off. I stared after him in confusion as Gai-sensei ran up to me. He was talking to me, but not a single word registered in my brain as I pondered where I had met him before.

"Bailey-chan, are you sure you're okay? Did you hit your head during the fall?" Gai-sensei asked placing a light hand on the top of my head.

"I'm fine, just a bit shaken from the fall," I replied honestly as I finally noticed the slight shaking of my small form. I'm so glad that kid caught me or else I would sure not be able to move for months let alone even be conscious.

"Thank Kami, if anything happened to your youthfulness, I'd have been very sad," Gai-sensei spoke. I smiled kindly up at him. "Now, run off to go help the youthful others." My smile widened and I waved to him. Orochimaru was long gone, but at least I could help my fellow trainees.

I met up with the rest of the ANBU trainees. All of us, but about five were present at the gate. Cat was there, but Owl wasn't. Another ANBU joined us, however. He wore a Hawk mask and I could easily tell it was Ibiki. What happened to Hiashi? I hope he's okay.

Cat brought us back to the valley and we all went back to our cabins in silence, not a single person wanting to discuss what had happened. The feeling of sorrow hung straight over our camp and I heard a few people crying in the cabin next to ours.

Kaede and I sat in silence for seemed like an eternity. "My husband was injured in the fight. The doctors said it wasn't too major, so he'll live," Kaede broke the silence. I smiled back at her. "Did you see your brothers?" I shook my head sadly. "Let's hope they're okay then."

"I fought with Orochimaru," I stated simply. She looked over at me like it was impossible. "We were on the Hokage Monument. I had him pinned when Kabuto kicked me off the cliff face. I was able to hang on but Orochimaru stepped on my hand. I caught his ankle and pulled him down with me, but Kabuto caught him." I stopped looking down at my hands. "Someone caught me. I don't know who it was, but they were so familiar. I actually felt safe in his arms. I'm just so confused that I don't know." I told her.

She placed a hand on my knee from her bed across from mine. "I think its love at first sight," she smiled over. I glared right on back causing her to laugh at me. I stuck my tongue out at her and she mirrored me. I glared and growled again making her howl with laughter once again.

A knock came on our down. We hurriedly placed our masks over our faces. Hawk opened the door. His huge frame cast a shadow into our room from the setting sun. "We're going to have a meeting around the campfire and we ask for your presence to be there," he stated and turned from us, leaving the door open in his wake. We nodded and followed after.

Arriving at the campfire, I observed various men broken and shaken from the battle over Konoha. Some were shaking from tears, others of fright, but most just sat there and I could clearly see the anger from the way their hands balled into tight fists. Cat sat on a chair, slowly picking at the flames with a rather large stick. Hawk came over to sit beside him shortly later.

Kaede and I sat on a log just across from them. "I know none of you want to do this, but can you all please remove your masks to honor all those we have lost today," Cat asked of us.

"There is no fear or unwillingness among any of us that would not want to do that. I feel all of us have lost someone important whether it is just our Sandiame or someone special," a man spoke up removing his mask. Everyone nodded in agreement and too removed their masks.

I looked around to and caught some familiar faces, one including my old sensei Aoba. Ibiki, who was Hawk, along with Asuma were also present. I saw some surprised looks pass over some peoples' faces as they saw who I was.

"Let us take a moment of silence for all those who have fallen today," the brown haired man who held the Cat mask said. Everyone's heads lowered in prayer. "Thank you." He had said after a minute. Asuma broke down crying and Ibiki bent over him, giving him a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder.

I saw Shinobu Mibu whom went to the same Jounin exam that I participated in. I approached Asuma and Shinobu. Asuma looked up teary eyed and they widened larger than I knew they could. "B-Bailey, what are you doing here?" Aoba-sensei spoke up walking over.

"Kakashi-sensei recommended me for the training. However, he doesn't know I'm here, so don't tell him," I answered. He sighed and shook his head. I smiled over at him more in amusement than to joke.

"I swear that man is going to be the death of you," he murmured. I stuck my tongue out at the older man.

"Shinobu, I apologize for the Jounin Exams. I hope I didn't hurt you that much," I bowed to him. He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and smiled down.

"The fight was fair, and I have no regrets. I didn't pass simply because you beat, but because I didn't show enough skill. It is more my fault than any of your's. You didn't hurt me in the slightest," he responded ruffling my hair. I shook my hair out and glared/pouted up at him. He laughed straight on back.

"Did you catch him, Bailey?" Asuma asked. I looked over surprised and confused. "Did you catch the bastard that murdered my father?" I frowned and lowered my head furrowing my eyebrow.

"That bastard kicked me off the Hokage Monument, literally, before I could catch him or get any lethal damage on him," I growled balling my fists and glaring at the ground. "Evil snake pedophile Orochimaru!"

"Did you catch onto something before you fell all the way?" Ibiki asked. I shook my head slightly distant as I recalled what happened. "Well how did you survive?"

"A man, probably around my age, caught me before I hit the ground. Kaede thinks it was love at first sight, but he just felt so familiar. I don't know from where, but he did," I replied.

"What did he look like? Strong, handsome, dark, what?" Shinobu inquired. I dragged him and Aoba away. Shinobu felt like a funny cousin while Aoba was like an uncle or something.

"He had light brown hair, brilliant baby blue eyes, and was slightly tanned. He was strong and was very fast. I just want to know, who he was!" I answered. A troubled look passed through Aoba's eyes as Shinobu shrugged. "Something you know that I don't?"

A look of panic crossed over his face. "No, nothing at all!" he answer to quickly. I narrowed my eyes and raised an eyebrow. "He just sounds like a lot of shinobi in Konoha us all." I kept my eyes narrowed but said nothing. I might as well drop it.

"It's good seeing you, anyway, Aoba-sensei!" I said.

"Whoa!" Kaede yelled as she walked toward us. "Did you just call him sensei? I thought you trained under Kakashi." I sighed.

"I do train under Kakashi, but when I was placed on a team, my sensei was Aoba here. We stopped training after what happened at the Chunin Exams," I argued back. She nodded her understanding. "So, what have you been up to lately, Aoba?" I turned to face him. A blush crept up onto his cheeks.

"I am going to become a teacher at the academy soon," he said quietly. I smirked knowing fully well why he was going to become something he hated when I first met him. He saw my smirk and sighed, but the blush darkened ever so slightly. "My classroom will be across from Yutaka Fuumi." I started laughing. I swear that man was a love-sick puppy. His blush spread throughout his entire face now and he started to resemble Hinata.

"Just ask her out then! She'll think you're her stalker soon!" I yelled at him still laughing. He frowned.

"I can't do that! She'll never date a guy like me!" he shouted. I kept on laughing and shook my head at his stupidity.

"Dude, she already likes you and if you miss this opportunity, you'll never get her!" I replied. My laughing went on for a good few minutes.

"Alright, I'll ask her out as soon as the training is over!" he self promised. I, too, made myself a promise. That was to catch the nervousness of him when he does it on tape! Oh, just another forty or so days to go.


	10. The End of All That's Peaceful

I passed! I made it through the training! Though still sore, I am so happy with myself that I made it to the end of the training! My mask resembles a dark wolf and I am entirely proud of it. Now all I have to do to become an ANBU is to pass the test in a few months.

I walked into the door to the Hyuga manor. Hiashi had come back a week after the attack. Being a clan leader, he was forced to stay behind and decide on who will be the next Hokage. Apparently, they chose Tsunade Senju, one of the Sandiame's pupils, since Jiraiya didn't want the position. I hope she isn't into Jiraiya's books like the Sandiame was.

Neji suddenly appeared, running around the corner and straight towards me. I sighed as I was thrown into a hug by my overprotective brother. "How did you do in the Chunin Exams? Did Naruto kick your ass into the ground?" I joked. He growled and glared at me with his arms crossed. I stuck my tongue out at him. I had guessed right.

"Where were you? You missed me execute a perfect Kaiten!" Neji demanded. I smirked at him. He was worried. He just won't admit it.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I taunted. He lunged at me and caught me in a headlock. I half squealed, half laughed as I fought back. Eventually, we ended up on the ground wrestling. A few branch members were watching as I gently pushed him away. "Fine, I was on a long mission with Aoba-sensei. When we heard about the attack on Konoha, we got back as fast as we could, helped out, and left again. It's no big deal, except he trained me and now I can beat you like this." I snapped my fingers together and he just rolled his eyes.

"In your dreams!" he taunted this time.

"No, in your dreams, weak boy that got beat by the knucklehead!" I fired right back smirking triumphantly. He glared right on back in slight anger. I nudged his arm playfully before grabbing a hold of his arm and dragging him away.

"Come on! Let's got find Sasu-nii!" I said to him dragging him through the gates. He pulled his arm out of my grasp but followed me none the less. We ran straight past Team 8's training grounds with them in it. I waved to Hinata as we past.

We ran right into the Team 7's training grounds and I tackled Sasuke to the ground. Neji stopped at the edge respectfully. "Gah!" Sasuke shouted as he hit the grass below him. "What the hell, Bailey?" he shouted at me. I smiled.

"Good to see you, too, nii-san!" I shouted back innocently. He glared. "What? No, 'welcome back' or 'where have you been' like Neji. You're just going to lay there and glare at me."

"Fine, welcome back Imouto, yadda yadda. Can you get off me now?" he said. I giggled and I got off his back and helped him up.

"Where were you little missy?" Kakashi stated crossing his arms. He came over and lifted me over his shoulder. I growled and crossed my arms as he tried to spin me around. I flipped off his shoulders.

"I was on a last minute mission with Aoba-sensei okay. We had to locate, scope out, and maintain our cover in the mist of an enemy gang in Mist. After a few weeks we had enough evidence to detain them. Poor morons didn't know a thing," I answered simply.

"What were your covers, father and daughter?" Sasuke stepped in.

"As a matter of fact, yes. He was the cool father and I was his young daughter you didn't want to mess with," I replied getting in Sasuke's face. "I punched a guy in the face the second they doubted anything." With that, they all shut up about the matter.

"So, have you met Tsunade, yet?" Neji asked from the edge of the clearing. I shook my head. "Well, let's go introduce you. You'll hate her, trust me." I raised an eyebrow as the three of them dragged me towards the Hokage tower. I think I'd like her if Neji doesn't. Thank Kami Sakura and Naruto weren't here to drag me there as well.

We arrived there within a few minutes. A couple of people gave us some strange looks, but they were easily ignored. A woman with black hair registered us to see Tsunade. "I'm Shizune, Bailey-san. I'm Tsunade's assistant," she said. I nodded.

"Drop the honorifics, please. I prefer just Bailey," I replied. She nodded this time and knocked on a door that used to belong to the Sandiame. She entered with us in tow. A blonde haired woman looked up from the desk positioned by the windows.

"Shizune, why are they here?" the woman I assumed was Tsunade said irritated. Stacks and stacks of paperwork littered her desk. I smirked as she looked ready to punch someone.

"These bubbling idiots thought it wise to introduce me," I answered. She smiled. "I'm Bailey Uchiha Hyuga, the sister to those two fools. I was trained by Aoba and Kakashi. I'll leave you be if you want."

"You can stay, but the other three have to go. Shizune can stay as well," Tsunade ordered. Sasuke stuffed his hands into his pockets and just left. Both Kakashi and Neji bowed and exited. "I like you. You've got balls and I respect that. So, where were you before when I met every other ninja?"

"I was at the ANBU training for the past two months. I survived at eleven and twelve. My birthday was during the two months. That's awesome," I said. She smiled. "So, I see you've got tons of paperwork. Sandiame thought it was cursed you know. There's so much, it never seems to end."

"I highly doubt it," she leaned back in her chair. I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "So, Bailey, who were your parents?" I sighed.

"Hizashi Hyuga and Mikoto Uchiha were my parents. It was a complete accident, but without it I wouldn't be here today," I replied. She smiled slightly. "How were your travels? I heard you've been a huge gambler. How's the luck?" I asked.

"So gaki, I hear you're Jounin ranked while those brothers of yours are still Genin. Can you explain that?" she asked ignoring my question. I rolled my eyes at her nickname for me.

"I'm Jounin ranked because I got Kakashi to train me when I was three. He taught me some lessons from the academy and when I got in, I just breezed on through. Graduated the year after. From there on, I kept it a secret. Neither Neji nor Sasuke knew about the graduation and neither of them found out until they graduated when they got their senseis, whom I train with," I answered. She nodded her head impressed as I shrugged.

"Nice kid, you remind me of both Kakashi and myself. So, how would you like to do my paperwork?" she said sweetly.

"Hey, I'm not that dumb. I know about that and you can't get me to do it." I backed away. She snapped her fingers and banged her head against the table. "So, did Naruto make you treat anyone when you got here?"

"I healed Kakashi, Sasuke, and I examined Lee. He's gone through with his operation and is recovering. He should be released soon because of how many times we've caught him training on the floor in his room," she mumbled into her desk at the first part before slamming her head back down again. Sasuke? Kakashi? Why were they hurt? I know it's not from the attack on Konoha.

"Why were they in the hospital Tsunade-sama? I know why Lee was but what about the other two?" I questioned. She looked up confused but shrugged it off.

"They ran into Itachi Uchiha. They were placed under his Tsukuyomi," she explained. I growled dangerously. "I take it you have a vengeance against him as well," she sighed.

I shook my head. "No, but he is in deep shit now," I replied. "Thank you Tsunade." I bowed and was going to leave.

"Oh, Bailey, I've got a mission for you. You will investigate Orochimaru's hideout. I trust you on this mission. I'll give you a few days to decide," she stated. I smiled and left. Itachi was so dead.

I ran out of the Hokage Office and to my hiding place in the far corner of the Uchiha compound. I hid some stuff there just in case, that included a scroll with a messenger crow from Itachi. I summoned it out of the scroll and wrote a quick note, telling him I was in trouble and I needed to meet him today at the clearing in less than an hour before sending it off to him.

I ran straight to the clearing I had specified. It was near a pond where I used to train by myself whenever Kakashi was gone on a mission. It was on the very edge of the forest between the Uchiha forest and the Takeo's next to us. It had taken about a half hour just to get there and knowing Itachi, he would be there within the next ten, fifteen minutes.

Sure enough, twelve minutes later, Itachi arrived in the clearing, slightly out of breath and sweating. "Bailey, I got your message, what's hap-" He couldn't say anymore. I had thrown a punch straight at him and connected with his cheek. He stumbled back and clutched the side I punched him on. "What was that for?"

"You put both Kakashi and Sasuke in comatose states!" I shouted at him. "What were you doing near them in the first place!" Metaphorically, steam was pouring out of my ears with anger. That steam could fill six hot air balloons and still have enough for half another, that's just how mad I was at him.

"I had to make the attempt to catch Naruto-kun practical. If I had purposely thrown the mission, my partner would get suspicious. If he found out about my deal with the leader he would freak!" Itachi stated.

"That doesn't mean you use your Tsukuyomi to torture the people I care about the most! What did Kakashi do to make you use that? And don't you dare say self-defense," I yelled at him.

"Imouto, I was protecting my partner, as for Sasuke, I went easier on him than I did Kakashi. His mind probably went into a mental relapse for a while. He would have been up in two weeks tops," Itachi answered. I sighed and shook my head. "So, you aren't in trouble, then. You just used that to lure me down here faster." I rolled my eyes and gave him a 'no shit Sherlock' kind of look.

"Itachi just don't do that to them, please," I pleaded. He nodded and pulled me into a hug. "And if you do, I'll personally twist you inside-out." I muttered darkly into his cloak. He stiffened for a few seconds but relaxed again.

We stood (hugged) in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. "You should head back, Bailey. It'll be noon soon." I looked up to the sky and sure enough the sun was getting close to the middle of the sky.

"Just promise me you'll be okay, Aniki," I said into his cloak.

"I promise. You stay safe, too. I have to get back. I have a meeting with Leader-sama in an hour," he gave me a comforting squeeze and let go. I smiled up to him before taking off back to Konoha.

I let my mind swim to the thoughts of what has happened as I finally made it back to the compound. I trained with Sasuke for about an hour, but I wasn't focused. He didn't notice, but I could just feel that something was going to happen. He was improving but there was something he was clouding in his head and what seemed to fuel him.

I went for a walk to clear my head. Gai-sensei stopped me and he checked to make sure my Taijutsu was improving. By the end of that, the sun was high in the sky, but it wasn't at all as hot as you'd expect.

My thoughts went to the mission I had gotten. Investigating Orochimaru's base might not be easy, but I want revenge on that snake pedophile. I was heading to Hyuga compound from the gate to eat lunch when the wind picked up slightly. The soft breeze through my hair felt amazing and suddenly I wasn't worried about the mission and thought I could probably handle it.

The bliss of the breeze was just spectacular. I actually stopped for a second to just stand in it. I breathed in the fresh hair and just felt at peace. I decided another lap around the village wouldn't be so bad and continued my walk.

As I walked, I saw Kurenai and Asuma shopping together, Kakashi was talking with Iruka, and Gai was harassing them, but all was awesome. Kotetsu and Izumo were nearly asleep by the gate, some kids were playing in the park, and a few Chunin were lounging around on the streets joking around. Even a few villagers were just hanging around at the stands and talking.

All was peaceful, but I didn't know how wrong I was. Little did I know, that my whole day (the good part of it anyway) would turn into a nightmare in a snap of my small tiny twelve year-old fingers.

**END**

**I hope you all enjoyed the story. It was very fun to write. Now, please read My Life as a Ninja to follow it. (If you haven't already read some of it)**


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